Week 10: Tech Tools for Critical Thinking

In class this week we talked about using technology for critical thinking. Critical thinking is essentially thinking logically and using reasoning skills, such as comparisons, cause/effect, deductive reasoning, analogies, critiquing, etc. Critical thinking also helps create ideas and stimulate curiosity.

Another great way to think critically is by using concept maps. Concept maps help organize your thought and ideas. Often times by putting your thoughts on paper you stimulate more ideas. As we talked about in class, there are many different online programs that can create concept maps for you, such as Webspiration, Bubbl.us, or Gliffy. Creating concept maps by hand are often a pain—if you need to change something, you have to erase and start all over. Online tools like these can help save time and organize ideas.  I used Bubbl.us to create a concept map (see below) and it was incredible simple!

One area where I found critical thinking to be very useful is in journalism. I have to use critical thinking all the time for the stories I write, whether it’s comparing notes between sources, drawing conclusions about a particular situation, or examining the cause and effect of different things. One of the biggest ways I gain information is though the Internet. It’s essential for me to know how to effectively use online technology for finding story ideas, writing stories, and looking for sources.  Concept maps are also useful for me in journalism. Many of my classes have talked about the importance of brainstorming techniques for ideas. In one class, we used concept maps to think of newspaper design ideas or to write headlines. The online world is becoming part of journalism, and finding ways to use new online technology for critical thinking is an important part of that development.

However, just because technology could help our critical thinking skills doesn’t mean it actually does. In order to use tech tools to think critically, we have to be looking for ways to develop better critical thinking skills through technology. More often than not, the things we use the Internet for are harming our thinking skills. An article in the UCLA Newsroom reports on a study that says Internet use has caused a decline in critical thinking skills. The article brings up a good point, and I think it’s important to remember that you need to use the Internet wisely. Check out the article for more details.