Can technology really be HOTS?

So just how can we utilize technology to improve and develop higher order thinking skills? Just what are these higher order thinking skills - and aren't we either born with them, or not?
Our second reading describes in detail Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking skills and then goes on to describe the differences between critical thinking and creative thinking, and how teachers need to both directly and indirectly foster these thinking skills. We can all learn how to think better!

Teachers need to foster both creative and critical thinking skills and there are many ways for a teacher to incorporate this in their everyday classroom. Using historical simulations, asking probing questions and waiting longer for the answer, debates, analyzing both sides of an issue - there are many ways in all subject matters and grade levels to incorporate both critical and creative higher order thinking skills.

Not only will the students develop better ways of thinking, they will also enrich what learn about and retain the subject matter they are studying better.

How can teachers use technology to teach? Our first article outlines by way of a techtorial, each of the 6 stages of our cognitive domain: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation. They then give, by stage, websites that teachers can send students to which will primarily utilize a particular stage or stages of the thinking process. For example, when younger students are simply in search of knowledge a useful website, arranged by subject is www.kidsclick.org .

Using technology can allow teachers to vary their students output, thus vary the performance expectations. Students can be much more engaged with their subjects and pursue their own interest in the subject matter. It is of course very important to make research very goal oriented and have the students work with all the information creatively and critically as is described in the first article - "know it, assess it, use it, take it apart, put it together and examine it!"