Constructivism…

When understanding the concept of constructivism i had to think back to when i was in school. Was i allowed the opportunities to discover my own learning??? Was i given the chance to ask questions, explore and observe??? I believe i was given a range of opportunities to learning through the theory of constructivism. Constructivism, defined by its name, is a theory that allows people to construct their own meaning and knowledge of the world through experiencing, reflecting, and observing particular experiences and acts. To do this we need to actively ask questions, explore and assess what knowledge known. Here, e-learning in the classroom can contribute to effective learning through constructivism. The ability for children to explore, research, express and reflect on their learning through different technology allows children to learn at their full potential. Getting children to use technology to demonstrate their knowledge and to explore different aspects provides children with ample amount of opportunities to explore and learn at their full potential. E-learning allows children to learn HOW TO LEARN.

constructivism site

Bringing affective behaviour to e-Learning

Bringing affective behaviour to e-Learning is an article discussing the need for education to draw upon cognitive demands. I therefore believe that students need to be lead in a direction of learning that allows them to learn, respond, present and reflect. Here, e-learning or learning through technology would be a good source to provide children with these opportunities.

This article also discusses the need for children and teachers to generate guidelines and rules that should be followed when learning with technology. When teaching face to face in the classroom students are automatically inclined to follow the rules and perform under the right behaviours, however, when learning over the computer or other technological sources students need to clearly understand the rules and restrictions in certain learning episodes.

Mobiles as educational tools??

I have recently read the article ‘Please turn your mobile phones on’ posted by BBC.co. It discusses the idea that mobile phones are an educational tool rather than a hinder to a child’s learning. When learning about education, students need to be constantly motivated and actively involved. Here, mobile phones can be used to allow children to combine learning with new technology. Children can therefore increase their learning within the curriculum whilst learning technology. Here the idea of Constructivism comes into play. Allowing children to self discover their learning using technological sources generates student abilities and reflection within their learning. If a teacher is apposed to the use of mobile phones and asks them to turn them off, this hinders a child’s abilty to dive into the unknown and therefore scaffolds a child’s learning without the ability to explore. A child holds their knowledge when they are able to explore and discuss their learning.

The ability for a change to access the outside world using their mobile phones, allows a teacher to provide an insight and tangible evidence of education in the real world. Here. students are able to reflect on their learning and the need for education in the greater world. I believe the use of mobile phones within a certain learnig environment is a great idea and should be incorporated in schools rather than shone on.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15969063@N00/96823164

Facilitating Technology in the Classroom

I recently read a post on the blog ‘facilitating technology in the classroom’. This blog discusses the interesting and important ways to introduce technology into the classroom. This blog discussed the advantages of using media such as Photo story3 and Podcasts within the classroom. I believe that this would be a great idea and movement in the future for education. Enabling students to create their own individual work with media will generate motivation and expand their use of technology and creativity. However, consideration needs to be taken into account. Students defiantly will enjoy the use of technology with other KLA’s, however the practicing teacher needs to manage their teaching activities with the prescribed curriculum of those KLA’s involved, needs to manage time and restrict the use of these media software. This will allow students to increase their knowledge in softwares as well as allow them to expand their knowledge of education in other ways other than paper and pencil. The use of blogs by students could be a great use of communication. Students can learn of their homework and what is expected of them, as well as parents being able to communicate with the teacher and understand what is expected of their child. Therefore i believe that technology should be incorporated into the classroom as a positive means of education.

Laptops in schools to improve reading, writing and independence

Recently i read the article ‘Study shows classroom laptops can improve reading skills’ posted on k-12 computing blueprint. When reading this article i was intrigued by the statements made concerning the positive effects of laptops in schools. The article states that laptops allow less teacher talk time and more individual and group work time. I also believe that laptops will allow less teacher talk time whereby students are able to research and follow easy instructions and complete on task work. However, my concern with laptops in the classroom is that children will be constantly distracted by the computers and will therefore fall off tasks. The article also states that the students will find learning “more interesting and motivating”. This is defiantly true, however teachers will need to be well aware of each individual’s participation in the class and their ability to stay on task. Therefore i feel as a teacher i would encourage the use of laptops in the classroom, thus introducing technology in the classroom. However teachers need to maintain strict guidelines and restrict the use of laptops to specific learning activities, timing and/or KLAs.