Spectrum+of+Understanding


 * Introduction:** What we have learned from the spectrum of understanding is that there are three main levels in this spectrum. The first level is the mechanical stage which consists of teachers who are just figuring out how to do something on the technologically. The second stage is the meaningful stage which means that the teacher has limited independence with the technological topic. The third and final stage is generative which implies that the teacher is able to re-purpose the information that was presented. Another way of saying this is that the teacher can explain the topic to their class and have the students succeed at using the technology. This is similar to that of dimensions of application.

Mechanical = Green Meaningful = Red Generative = Blue




 * History:** Yong Zhao wrote a book called //What Teachers Need to Know About Technology.// In this book he discusses how all teachers knowledge on technology will fit into one of these three categories.

[|http://books.google.com/books?id=defcDAG38GYC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=yong+zhao+mechanical+meaningful&source=bl&ots=jB9h7D8k8f&sig=3a9f_1hK4jYZPuiCcSCEqq1UCFU&hl=en&ei=FiXFTvHWFImCsgKdsfDxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=yong%20zhao%20mechanical%20meaningful&f=false]