Non-digital technologies, such as an automata in this case, can really help the development of critical thinking skills of students. For the purpose of this post, I will be using the automata as my example of non-digital technology.
Automatas can be made of most any material. In our class, we used cardboard, glue, and other various non-digital technology to create a machine. This "machine" has gears that turn and make another component of the automata move. When students are trying to figure out how to make a component of their automata move, they are directly using their critical thinking skills. As students, we analyze the problem and then try to understand how to fix it before applying our knowledge of how to fix it. With these critical thinking skills, we can move forward to problem solving with digital technologies. For example, during our understanding stage while building the automata, we may turn to youtube or other resources to teach us how to fix a certain problem we may be having with our gears or mechanisms. Carrying this over to digital media, we may again turn to youtube or other online resources to fix or understand the problems we may be facing. It's basically all about finding the problem, looking up a resource to help you, understand said resource, and then apply the new knowledge to the project. This can very definitely be carried over to digital technology.
Automatas can be made of most any material. In our class, we used cardboard, glue, and other various non-digital technology to create a machine. This "machine" has gears that turn and make another component of the automata move. When students are trying to figure out how to make a component of their automata move, they are directly using their critical thinking skills. As students, we analyze the problem and then try to understand how to fix it before applying our knowledge of how to fix it. With these critical thinking skills, we can move forward to problem solving with digital technologies. For example, during our understanding stage while building the automata, we may turn to youtube or other resources to teach us how to fix a certain problem we may be having with our gears or mechanisms. Carrying this over to digital media, we may again turn to youtube or other online resources to fix or understand the problems we may be facing. It's basically all about finding the problem, looking up a resource to help you, understand said resource, and then apply the new knowledge to the project. This can very definitely be carried over to digital technology.