7/17/2009


One week closer to technological competence.


Piaget and Vygotsky both believe "that learning is an intentional process of 
constructing meaning from experience" (McInerney and McInerney, 2006, p.37).  However, there are also considerable differences between the two, one of which is identified in the work of Wink and Putney (2002), who acknowledge Piaget’s belief that ‘development precedes learning’ and Vygotsky’s belief that ‘learning precedes development’. Whichever of these beliefs is indeed correct i can say with great satisfaction that my 'intentional' 'learning' 'development' through 'experience' into an unknown world, has been both exciting and adventurous.

Up until Tuesday the 7th of July i had absolutely no idea what a blog was. I can now tell you it is a useful tool that i look forward to incorporating into my future classrooms. A blog is an easy and interactive way to communicate ones thoughts, pictures, recipes, designs, ideas, opinions and the list goes on. 

In a classroom environment the opportunities that are open to both learning managers and students are endless. Blogs provide learning managers with the ability to post discussion points on classroom topics and allow students to return their thoughts and comments. Students who display 'introvert' qualities in a classroom setting could possibly benefit from this, as they have the opportunity to voice their opinions in their own personal surroundings.

During any unit of work a blog can be created by each student in order to reflect upon their learning journey. Weekly, or perhaps even daily depending on resource availability, entries can be made that provide an analysis of the learning experiences the students have been presented with. Not only does this provide the learning manager with information that can guide literacy, ICT and also deep understanding components of assessment, it provides a weekly/daily checkpoint to ensure that all students in your class are on task and have a solid knowledge and understanding of the topic.

This only names a few, however the possibilities are endless and we have the opportunity to let our potential and creativity take its place in this new and exciting era.

Until next time,
Kerri. 

Reference:

McInerney,D. & McInerney,V. (2006). Education Psychology: Constructing learning (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest Pearson Education Australia.

Wink, J. & Putney, L. (2002). A Vision of Vygotsky [Electronic version]. Boston MA, United States of America: Allyn and Bacon.


3 comments:

  1. Hi Kerri,

    I totally agree. Before now I have not even considered the endless possibilities of technology in the classroom. As a matter of fact I would have steered away from it as I did not understand it.

    As I learn more about technology and its implicatins in the classroom, it seems crazy that it is not used more effectively. There is so much more than PPt's and word docs.

    Kellie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Kerri,

    I think it would be amazing (via this course and further experiences) to develop a mindset where I do not necessarily think so SEPARATELY about the 'creative' and the 'technical' aspects when producing/designing eduational content.

    I often feel that I come up with what I think are potentially good ideas - but easily get bogged down with the: 'Can it be done?', 'How is it done?' thought processes.

    To have the confidence (enough technical nouse) to simple know that whatever I come up with - is technically 'achieveable' would be awesome! Freeing up the 'creative side' to go wild.

    Tony.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Kellie and Tony,

    Kellie, i too would usually steer away from the unknown in fear of doing the wrong thing, or even worse, failure! Although, now that i have had a bit of a glimpse into the possibilities of using technology effectively and the opportunities available to us, there is a huge sigh of relief.

    Tony i understand exactly what you are saying. So many times i have thought of ideas that i believe to have so much potential, yet i shoot them down in flames before even considering how to begin. This course so far has provided me with a much deeper insight into my own
    abilities and is extending my courage and confidence to achieve some fantastic outcomes. Well that's the plan anyway!

    Great chatting with you both and i look forward to your next posts.
    : ) Kerri.

    ReplyDelete