Educational Philosophy
Successful integration of technology to enhance learning and instruction
is no simple task. In Oversold and Underused: Computers in the
Classroom, Author Larry Cuban described the consequential, limited
enhanced learning impact of significantly large technology investments
made across Silicon Valley schools. The data presented clearly showed
that without a proper vision for integration, technology purchases in
schools will continue to be bad investments.
An effective technology vision should be the product of one’s educational philosophy. My personal educational philosophy is rooted in Piaget’s original work in Constructivism and more specifically Vygotsky's work in social constructivist learning theory. Learners construct personal knowledge and understanding through experiencing, applying and reflecting on the information and content shared. Learners reconcile new experiences with previous ideas and views to form personal meaning. As the instructor, I move away from the traditional, teacher-centered instructional methods (Sage on the Stage) to more student centered approaches (Guide on the Side), engaging learners in an effort to facilitate learning and shaping of meaning. Learning is a social process. Learners are unique with differing needs, backgrounds and worldviews. Since this is the case, social interactions and collaboration are important to shape knowledge construction and shared understanding during the learning process. Learners must be active seekers of knowledge as opposed to passive consumers of content. This means that learners need to take a primary role of responsibility for the learning where traditional theories would have that role residing with the authoritative, expert faculty.
My vision has technology integrated to support the facilitation (a partner) of meaningful learning. The technology is not there simply as a delivery vehicle but, also, engages learners to become active thinkers and seekers of knowledge. The technology allows users to support knowledge construction through investigation (internet/database searches, feed aggregation, social bookmarks, etc.), exploration (simulations, metaverses, etc.), modeling (spreadsheets), effective writing and presentation (mindmaps, word processing applications, presentation software, etc.), for communication (forums, podcasting, web conferencing, IM, VoIP, etc.), establishment of community and collaboration (forums, social networks, student blogs/microblogs, group tools, etc). The technology is used to aid the visualization of concepts (screencasting, learner-generated video, photo documentaries, digital storytelling, etc) and assessment (ePortfolio).
My vision supports my educational philosophy in that the technology should be used to help facilitate active, constructive and collaborative learning in a contextualized environment. These characteristics help develop dynamic thinkers and foster meaningful learning. In the end, to achieve successful technology integration and avoid repeating the historical plight identified by Cuban in his book, one must remember that the technology is simply a tool to help achieve learning goals – students will not learn from the technology, but with it.
An effective technology vision should be the product of one’s educational philosophy. My personal educational philosophy is rooted in Piaget’s original work in Constructivism and more specifically Vygotsky's work in social constructivist learning theory. Learners construct personal knowledge and understanding through experiencing, applying and reflecting on the information and content shared. Learners reconcile new experiences with previous ideas and views to form personal meaning. As the instructor, I move away from the traditional, teacher-centered instructional methods (Sage on the Stage) to more student centered approaches (Guide on the Side), engaging learners in an effort to facilitate learning and shaping of meaning. Learning is a social process. Learners are unique with differing needs, backgrounds and worldviews. Since this is the case, social interactions and collaboration are important to shape knowledge construction and shared understanding during the learning process. Learners must be active seekers of knowledge as opposed to passive consumers of content. This means that learners need to take a primary role of responsibility for the learning where traditional theories would have that role residing with the authoritative, expert faculty.
My vision has technology integrated to support the facilitation (a partner) of meaningful learning. The technology is not there simply as a delivery vehicle but, also, engages learners to become active thinkers and seekers of knowledge. The technology allows users to support knowledge construction through investigation (internet/database searches, feed aggregation, social bookmarks, etc.), exploration (simulations, metaverses, etc.), modeling (spreadsheets), effective writing and presentation (mindmaps, word processing applications, presentation software, etc.), for communication (forums, podcasting, web conferencing, IM, VoIP, etc.), establishment of community and collaboration (forums, social networks, student blogs/microblogs, group tools, etc). The technology is used to aid the visualization of concepts (screencasting, learner-generated video, photo documentaries, digital storytelling, etc) and assessment (ePortfolio).
My vision supports my educational philosophy in that the technology should be used to help facilitate active, constructive and collaborative learning in a contextualized environment. These characteristics help develop dynamic thinkers and foster meaningful learning. In the end, to achieve successful technology integration and avoid repeating the historical plight identified by Cuban in his book, one must remember that the technology is simply a tool to help achieve learning goals – students will not learn from the technology, but with it.
