EDLD 5364 Week 1

Constructivists consider learning to be an individual and personal learning experience. This theory believes that learners bring their prior knowledge into what they are learning and that influences what they get out of the learning. I personally think this is true. I think that most people really do bring prior knowledge into what they are learning. Constructivists also believe that knowledge in constructed in different ways and by using different tools. They feel that the more ways people are offered to learn the more they will learn. I again agree with this. As a student teacher I have watched my students during assignments. Some seem to learn better one way while another one learns better another way. I think that teachers have to offer a variety of ways for the students to learn. This should include hands on assignments. Offering different methods of learning will allow the greatest number of students to learn. They also feel that social interaction is important. They feel that talking about something allows people to learn more. I was watching the videos and learned that a constructivist is never objective. He was saying that everyone is trying to make it fit into what they thought. I think that it is probably true to some extent. I don't think people realize they are doing it, but in reality they are. He said that if you asked everyone what they heard they would all tell you something different. I found that to be very interesting. I had never really thought about it.
During a video I watch with Mr. Warwick in it I learned some very interesting information. Mr. Warwick says that over time we will be able to get an implant to help us with improved communication. I did not know that that was even a possibility. He was talking about a chip that was connected to him that allowed him to be attached to a computer. This is something that I have never heard of. He said that some say that we only sence five percent of what is around us. In the project he was in they were able to stimulate his nervous system and allow him to experience other senses. One of those was sonar. I think it is amazing that he was able to do that. It always amazes me what scientists come up with. I listed to this video with much interest. I have never heard of these types of experiments and was interested in seeing what he had to say.
According to the Department of Education it is predicted that computer use in schools will continue to rise. This does not suprise me. I think that computers are important in our lives and schools will have to continue to teach children how to use them. Using technology can be good for students since many technology items allow for hands on use. This helps students learn from doing hands on projects. I believe that many students benefit from the hands on experience. Using technology can also help students visualize hard to learn lessons. It can help them to see something instead of just hearing about it. This is because using a computer they can see a simulation. For instance when I was in college getting my BA I had to take an environmental science class. It was about the effects of different things on the ozone layer. It wanted us to see how it changed over a period of about 150 years. Instead of just trying to look up facts there was a computer simulation. It helped me to see and visualize what I was trying to learn. I think that I learned a lot more from that than from just reading a book.
Even though there are good uses for electronics in the schools there are still some who do not want them to be used. These people feel like they are a waste of money. I think that even though the electronics are expensive they do have a place in the schools. I do not believe that we should go completely to computers and quit using books and whiteboards, but I do think that they are important and that our children need to know how to use them.