may be enhanced if “ students are motivated to learn by understanding their learning style ” ( Cercone 2008 : online ). Motivation appears an important aspect in research focusing on independent study highlighted the relationships among learning outcomes and goals , motivation , and learning strategies employed by the individual learners . Research on learning styles is somewhat related and builds on a conceptual framework that suggests that matching teaching style and learning style will yield enhanced academic gains and persistence . Jochems , et . al . ( 2004:200 ) argue that “ the traditional learner who is carefully guided through a well-defined curriculum is replaced by a life-long learner , who is self-directed regarding the selection of learning tasks and contents , the use of different media , and cooperation with teachers / tutors and peers ”. McPherson and Nunes ( 2004:83 ) termed online learning skills as “ networked information and communication literacy skills ( NICLS )”. These skills are required to succeed in the online learning process but will also exposed the students to such learning environment . NICLS are the traditional basic learning skills based on a new set of information and communication literacy skills which include recognizing information needs , distinguishing ways of addressing gaps , constructing strategies of locating information , locating and accessing information and comparing and evaluating information , as well as organizing , applying and synthesizing information . The NICLS can be clearly divided into two main categories : computer-mediated communication ( CMC ) and information skills . CMC skills are related to the interaction of the student with the learning community whereas information skills are related to access to the learning resources and problems of information anxiety and overload . CMC is supposed to promote self-discipline and requires learners to take more responsibility for their own learning . However , there is the need to prepare students to use these technologies in the context of learning . Learners need to be skilled in technical and social aspects . Technical aspects include the technical skills needed to use CMC in an online learning situation - the `how to ' aspects of the course . For successful communication , the introduction of CMC into the learning environment generally requires changes and adaptations in human behaviour . Students should be aware of crucial social factors involved in using CMC technologies such as : ignoring social boundaries , dealing with selfdisclosure , flaming , guiding behaviour , adding cues to the communication ( emoticons ) and online etiquette ( netiquette ). The group dynamics in face-to-face environment also occur in CMC based environment which include communication patterns , group formation , group boundaries and sub-groups . But CMC-based groups are different due to special psychological features of cyberspace . Text-based communication , status equality , and the opportunity for altering or hiding one ' s identity are unique elements in the online group process . “ The better in written communication , the more successful in an online environment ” ( Lynch 2004:53 ). The flexible boundaries also make asynchronous groups unique not only as compared to face-toface groups , but in relation to online chat sessions as well . The tools available for synchronous and asynchronous communication allow students to participate in the ongoing virtual sessions at their own convenience and at their own pace . “ Some of the unique features of asynchronous , typed-text communication also alter the interpersonal dynamics of the group , which offers the opportunity to better understand and improve how the group functions ” ( Clarke 2004:201- 211 ).
Our Innate Sense of Color
Colors exist on a seamless spectrum , yet we assign hues to discrete categories such as “ red ” and “ orange .” Past studies have found that a person ' s native language can influence the way colors are categorized and even perceived . In Russian , for example , light blue and dark blue are named as different colors , and studies find that Russian speakers can more readily distinguish between the shades . Yet scientists have wondered about the extent of such verbal influence . Are color categories purely a construct of language , or is there a physiological basis for the distinction between green and blue ? A new study in infants suggests that even before acquiring language , our brain already sorts colors into the familiar groups . A team of researchers in Japan tracked neural activity in 12 pre-linguistic infants as they looked at a series of geometric figures . When the shapes ' color switched between green and blue , activity increased in the occipitotemporal region of the brain , an area known to process visual stimuli . When the color changed within a category , such as between two shades of green , brain activity remained steady . The team found the same pattern in six adult participants . The infants used both brain hemispheres to process color changes . Language areas are usually in the left hemisphere , so the finding provides further evidence that color categorization is not entirely dependent on language . At some point as a child grows , language must start playing a role — just ask a Russian whether a cloudless sky is the same color as the deep sea . The researchers hope to study that developmental process next “ Our results imply that the categorical color distinctions arise before the development of linguistic abilities ,” says Jiale Yang , a psychologist at Chuo University . Jordana Cepelewicz
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