PRP - Sixth artefact, The colour of learning

From different research articles it has become apparent the the use of colour effects many different ways in how we learn.

"Of all the forms of non-verbal communication, color is the most instantaneous method of conveying messages and meanings."

Colour influences how people learn and so educators have to take into consideration which colours to use at certain ages levels. I was not aware of this. An interesting piece of information that I found whilst reading this information was that certain events from when you are at a younger age can cause you to like or dislike a colour when you grow up.

"Learned. People and events from your past can cause you to like and dislike certain colors in the present. For example, a favorite grade school teacher's blue dress can stimulate an appreciation for blue in your adulthood. Yet, an intense dislike for that teacher might cause you to "turn off" to blue. In adulthood, you tend to respond to stimuli the way you were conditioned in childhood."

Apart of the article that I found particularly interesting is how children in today's world are being effected by the use of Television and video games. According to research watching video games (colour from screens) is improving the capabilities on the right side of the brain but the result is leaving the left side alot weaker. This makes me wonder whether when I test artefact five, will the children use certain colours to when colouring, affecting the look of the image.

Also when testing the children will the different level of literacy skills effect the way they work when it comes to using the computer.

"The collective research over the past decade suggests that children today are developing awesome capabilities in their right cerebral hemispheres "at the expense" of the left-hemisphere skills. Apparently, children have been immersed in visual imagery, such as television and video and are therefore quite adept at using the neural systems that carry this kind of information. On the other hand, they have become weak in skills that demand left-hemisphere strengths, such as the ability to "translate a narrative from a book in to a visual image in the mind." The home environment has changed substantially. Video (right brain) is king, while books and stories (left brain language) have been neglected. The result, for classroom teachers, may be children who have difficulty in taking the time or harnessing the skills involved in many language-heavy, left-brain draining activities. We seize the power of the visual and need to use color to stimulate learning. By using color carefully, we may be able to use visual imagery to coax more left-brain language activity. Admittedly, it is an inexact science; more of an art, but definitely worth a try!"

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