Technologies for Critical Thinking Development

The 21st century is driven by the knowledge revolution. The manufacturing-based economy of the 19th and early 20th centuries has given way to an economic model that values creativity and knowledge creation. The knowledge revolution challenges educational institutions at every level to harness the skills and knowledge required to utilize the latest technologies—Internet browsing, Web resources, social media, gaming and simulation technologies, and so on—to develop and enhance critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is defined as self-regulated cognitive activity that applies multiple sources of information—evidence, inference, systematic methods, and context. Instructors and instructional designers have embraced educational technologies as a way to engage learners in critical thinking processes. Educational technologies include (a) personal computing devices as well as the software and applications that make them ...