Original Source Material: Technology has significantly transformed education at several major turning points in our history. In the broadest sense, the first technology was the primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language. Mime, gestures, grunts, and drawing of figures in the sand with a stick were methods used to communicate -- yes, even to educate. Even without speech, these prehistoric people were able to teach their young how to catch animals for food, what animals to avoid, which vegetation was good to eat and which was poisonous.

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In examining technology, we have to remember that computers are not the first technology people have had to deal with. The first technology was the primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language.

References: Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

Original Source Material: Constructivism is a movement that extends beyond the beliefs of the cognitivist. It considers the engagement of students in meaningful experiences as the essence of learning. The shift is from passive transfer of information to active problem solving. Constructivists emphasize that learners create their own interpretations of the world of information.

Source: Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J. D., & Smaldino, S. E. (1999). Instructional media and technologies for learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

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Constructivists do not hold views entirely opposed to those of the cognitivists. The position of constructivists extends beyond the beliefs of the cognitivist.

References: Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J. D., & Smaldino, S. E. (1999). Instructional media and technologies for learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Constructivists do not hold views entirely opposed to those of the cognitivists. The position of constructivists "... extends beyond the beliefs of the cognitivist" (Heinich, Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino, 1999, p. 17).

References: Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J. D., & Smaldino, S. E. (1999). Instructional media and technologies for learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Explanation: The student included a portion of the original author's work in a sentence without using quotation marks. Although the work was cited in the references, no credit was given to the original author in the text of the paper, and quotation marks were not used.

Explanation: Quotation marks are used to indicate that this passage is a word-for-word citation from the original document.

Original Source Material: The concept of systems is really quite simple. The basic idea is that a system has parts that fit together to make a whole; but where it gets complicated -- and interesting -- is how those parts are connected or related to each other.

Source: Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

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A system has parts that fit together to make a whole, but the important aspect of systems is how those parts are connected or related to each other (Frick, 1991).

References: Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

Frick (1991) states that "... a system has parts that fit together to make a whole ..." but the important aspect of systems is "... how those parts are connected or related to each other" (p. 17).

References: Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

Explanation: Although the author is cited at the end of the paragraph, the student copied word-for-word from the original source material and did not use quotation marks.

Explanation: Note in this example that the passage begins with the author and year of the publication. Quotation marks are used to indicate that the passages are word-for-word citations from the original document. The author is also listed in the references.

Original Source Material: Theories differ from philosophies and models of teaching. A philosophy is a value system, whereas a theory seeks to explain real-world events and can be certified through scientific investigation. Models of teaching are approaches to the management of some aspect of classroom instruction and they may not be independent of subject area, grade level, age of the student, or the setting for learning. A characteristic of learning theories is that they address the underlying psychological dynamics of events. Thus, they provide a mechanism for understanding the implications of events related to learning in both formal and informal settings.

Source: Gredler, M. E. (2001). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (4th ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

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Theories and philosophies are different from each other because theories seek to explain real-world events and can be certified through scientific investigation. Learning theories address the underlying psychological dynamics of events, so they provide a mechanism for understanding the implications of events related to learning in both formal and informal settings.

Theories and philosophies are different from each other because, according to Gredler (2001) theories seek

to explain real-world events and can be certified through scientific investigation... A characteristic of learning theories is that they address the underlying psychological dynamics of events. Thus, they provide a mechanism for understanding the implications of events related to learning in both formal and informal settings. (pp. 12-13)

References: Gredler, M. E. (2001). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Explanation: The student used several passages from the original work and inserted them into original prose; however no credit was given to the author, quotation marks were not used, the work was not listed in the references.

Explanation: An indented block is used to indicate that this passage is a word-for-word quotation and the pages where it was taken from the original document. The original author of the content is cited at the end of the passage and in the reference section as well.

Original Source Material: An important characteristic of instructional-design theories is that they are design oriented (or goal oriented). This makes them very different from what most people usually think of as theories. Theories can be thought of as dealing with cause-and-effect relationships or with flows of events in natural processes, keeping in mind that those effects or events are almost always probabilistic (i.e., the cause increases the chances of the stated effect occurring) rather than deterministic (i.e., the cause always results in the stated effect).

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References: Reigeluth, C.M. (1999). What is instructional design theory and how is it changing? In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-design theories and models volume II: A new paradigm of instructional theory, (pp. 1-29). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

References: Reigeluth, C. M. (1999). What is instructional design theory and how is it changing? In C. M. Reigeluth (ed.), Instructional-design theories and models volume II: A new paradigm of instructional theory, (pp. 1-29). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.