The phrase "At its heart" mostly refers to ____.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

WHAT IS YOUR LEARNING STYLE?

If you find yourself learn better by making notes during the lecture, or when the teacher uses a new word, you want to see it written immediately, then you are very likely to be a more visual learner. You prefer to see the written words. You learn by reading and writing. Visual learners often think in pictures. If you find a particular task or text difficult, look for sources that will suit your learning style, e.g. sources with illustrations, charts, tables, or videos.

If you prefer recording the lecture and listening again to taking notes, or you memorize something by repeating it aloud instead of writing it out several times, you are probably a more auditory learner. You prefer to learn by listening and speaking. Auditory learners often learn best from lectures, discussions, by reading aloud, and by listening to audio material.

However, it is probably that you, like most people, learn through a mixture of styles. Sometimes you may prefer to learn by reading, at other time by listening. Ask yourself which is the best style for the particular task you are doing.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Cell phones are an integrated part of our society at this point, and their main use is communication. They keep students in touch with the rest of the world by giving them the power to interact with it. In my day, if you forgot your lunch you were at the mercy of the office calling home for you. Now, students have the ability to solve their own problems and handle certain "emergencies" on their own.

Cell phones also allow students the ability when the time is right, to keep in touch with students at other schools or friends that don't go to school. While not an educational benefit directly, better relationships can lead to higher self-esteem and reduce isolation, which is good for everybody. In the same way, camera phones allow students to capture the kinds of memories that help build a solid school culture, and, in some cases, can act as documentation of misbehavior in the same way that store cameras provide evidence and deter bad behavior.

Academically, the cell phone can act as to record video of a procedure of explanation that may need to be reviewed later. It could be used to record audio of a lecture, as well, for later review. And just imagine if class could be easily "taped" for students who are absent? What if they could even be streamed and seen from home instantly?

The iPod is a little trickier, because its function varies greatly by model. At its heart, it is a media player, and I know for a fact that many students work better while listening to music. For this reason, they can have a good effect by keeping students from getting too distracted while working (ironic, because we mostly think of them AS distractions!). If it is a WIFI compatible model, and wireless internet is available, the iPod can be a great tool for looking up information or digging into things more deeply. Depending on the model, it may be able to act as a camera and video recorder as well (with the same benefits as the cell phone).

Devices like the Kindle could, conceivably, make learning a lot easier. Imagine carrying all your textbooks in the palm of your hand, rather than strapped to your back! Though expensive, compared to buying new textbooks, the Kindle is a bargain. Many of the books used in high school English classes are actually FREE on the Kindle.

The passage mainly discusses ____.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Electronic devices are becoming increasingly common in educational environments. The term most commonly used for such devices is "educational technology". This is not actually a new idea, as the rewritable wax tablets, often with lined surfaces to guide novice writers used in antiquity or the blackboard itself are both instances of technological innovations to support pedagogy.

There are many different ways in which electronic devices are used in education. For example, students in STEM (science, technology, engineering medicine) fields have been making extensive use of sophisticated calculators for many years (the abacus and slide rule were non-electronic predecessors to calculators).

In humanities as well as sciences, students use computers or equivalent devices to do research and write papers.

In all fields, courses are now likely to have websites, and many instructors use course management software such as Blackboard, to post information for students, record grades, set up online discussions, and check for plagiarism.

In lecture classes, many instructors project slides or notes on a screen and may even upload lecture notes so that students can review them. Some courses are hybrid, meaning that they have a strong online component, or offered entirely online. Many courses taught in conventional lecture halls are streamed online, and may use devices such as clickers to become more interactive.

Any device (including tablets or cell phones) that instructors incorporate into a learning environment functions as educational technology.

According to the passage, the term "educational technology" refers to ____.