The Internet has made adjustments to education. The changes affected both teaching methods and approaches to organizing the educational process. Now there are a lot of possibilities to make education really easy and comfortable. For example, professional editing is available on the Internet.
Perception of information
As you know, the perception of each person has its own individual characteristics. What is common to all is that we know the world through the senses: hearing, sight, smell, touch, and so on.
From a physiological point of view, each channel of perception works separately. We hear with our ears, we see with our eyes, and we feel with our skin. However, some people have no sensations at all – this phenomenon is called anesthesia. If a person experiences several sensations at the same time, it is called synesthesia.
Synesthetes – people capable of synesthesia – have a large, compared to others, and a unique sensory experience. The number of such people in the world is very small. However, in some cases, almost all of us feel something similar. We simultaneously use several channels of perception in the process of communication, when our brain interprets various symbols (such as pictures or smilies in messages) or determines the meaning of words we hear from the interlocutor or choose to convey to the interlocutor his opinion.
The science of semiotics is devoted to the use of symbols in communication, and semantics is devoted to different meanings of words. Many scientific works are devoted to the issues of synesthesia, semantics, and semiotics in connection with the processes of perception and understanding. However, new research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) makes it possible to look at these phenomena in a new way and consider them in combination.
The processes of perception and understanding of meanings are key in human learning. Understanding this mechanism gives us new ideas in order to improve existing teaching methods and move to new educational paradigms.
Model of three C
The process of human learning can be described using the “model of three C”. The main components are synesthesia, semiotics, and semantics. They interact in such a way as to provide the understanding and the ability to communicate. Thus semiotics includes an understanding of meanings of symbols, and semantics – perception and understanding of meanings of words, and also their use in the course of communication. When all three components of the model interact, learning occurs.
With the advent of the Internet, the process of communication has changed greatly. Computers, tablets, social networks, and many other technologies have changed the world and have greatly influenced the way we gain new knowledge about the world around us. The very mental mechanisms of learning have changed.
Modern psychology
Traditional learning psychology combines various theories that describe the learning process and offer ideas on how to make it more effective. Today there are more than a hundred such theories. They cover a range of topics such as emotions, empathy, perception, visualization, repetition, attention, motivation, memory, intelligence, semantics, semiotics, cognition, associative thinking, understanding mental patterns, and more.
In modern conditions, the psychology of learning is close to media psychology, which uses psychological theories used in the media, which relate to the perception of images, graphics, and sounds transmitted by modern technology.
Renowned Canadian scientist Marshall McLuhan shared psychology and media technology, looking at messages and the environment in which they spread. If this idea is projected onto the learning process, the teaching material in chemistry, mathematics or English remains the same no matter what technology is used to transfer it.
Today, media psychology is often considered in combination with the psychology of learning. Scientists are trying to establish how modern technology can make the learning process more efficient.
The use of ideas of media psychology in research on the psychology of learning becomes relevant in connection with the emergence of new forms of learning: distance, blended, online learning, and more. And the “model of three C” considered above finds wide application here.
Today, the Internet is a global network for disseminating thoughts and ideas. Learning occurs due to signals that enter the brain through various channels of perception. This process is unique for each person and for each type of information perceived. However, it is synesthetic in nature and involves the simultaneous experience of several senses.
Today there are more and more scientific papers on the interaction of channels of perception. Scientists have found, for example, that sound can enhance visual or tactile perception. Sound can also cause tactile sensations.
Research in the field of cinema has confirmed that musical accompaniment is very important for the perception of the film. These are just some examples of the multisensory perception we encounter in everyday life.
Sensory experience in each person is manifested differently. Feelings and sensory reactions arise and are perceived as a result of interaction between different parts of the brain. For example, emotions also arise in response to sensory signals. Synesthesia is a reaction that we experience without realizing it. Synesthetes do this consciously.
Learning experts note that many computer programs and applications have recently emerged that are well suited for online learning. They help to better absorb educational material, improve perception, etc. Electronic learning tools are more available today than ever before. They can be used to achieve a variety of educational goals – from learning foreign languages to developing new skills.
For example, applications are available today that can voice text documents. In this case, each word that is sounded at the moment is highlighted in a different color. The use of such technology can be extremely useful in learning foreign languages. In addition, in combination with other tools, this program can develop reading skills even in people with dyslexia and other learning disorders.
