EDLD+5364+Week+One+Update

EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology Week One Update 11/22/09 The videos and reading selections for this first week have been very interesting. One of our textbooks, //Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works// by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski, discussed the original Bloom's Taxonomy that I had studied as an undergrad and it also outlined nine categories of instructional strategies that affect student learning. This was a good review for me, because I have been out of school for awhile now. What was even more interesting was found in //Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools// by Solomon and Schrum, because the authors talked about a revised Bloom's Taxonmoy on p. 36. The Web has changed many aspects of our lives and even the way we learn has been affected. Bloom's Taxonomy has been revised to show that we, as educators, are trying to meet the needs of students by teaching them to be synthesizers of knowledge, and not just passive learners.

The other readings and videos for this week addressed the learning theories of Cyborg, Constructivism and Connectivism. The Cyborg theory, according to Warwick, involves the potential of using computer chip technologies to update the human brain. He feels that there will diverse opportunities to enhance the human learning experience in the near future. The Constructivism theory "views learning as the product of experience and social discourse" according to Siemens. He says that "learners bring unique prior knowledge, experience, and beliefs to a learning situation" and that **"t**he more opportunities we have, and the more actively engaged we are, the richer our understanding." In the theory of Connectivism, learners consider technology a key factor and that 'know-where' is now becoming as important to learning as 'know-what' and 'know-how.' Of all the material I reviewed this week, the Cyborg theory was the most interesting and disturbing. It raises the question of how much will this technology affect our future as teachers. I looked up additional material on this and found a web-presentation by Dallas McPheeters that talked about the blurring of boundaries in education. Here is the link for that. [|Cyborg Learning Theory]Will the teaching profession as we know it today become obsolete in the future? It's really something to ponder.