Learning in a Digital World

My philosophy of learning involves the acquiring of new knowledge or skills and enhancing prior knowledge and skills which can be accomplished through the use of educational technology for instruction. Learning a digital world is so much different from when I was in school. In past classrooms the only available technology that was used for instruction and those students’ could have access to were the following: movie projectors, screens, blackboards, tape recorders, record players, and black and white televisions. In today’s classrooms, students have access to much more educational technology such as the following: digital cameras, DVD players, VCR players, camcorders, smartboards, computers, printers, typewriters, ipods, ipads, CD players, Elmo, laptops or notebooks, cell phones, telephones, radios, flat screen color televisions, kindle books, Internet, and stereos. The use of technology as a part of my instruction has had an impact on the way that knowledge is grasped. It has helped my understanding of new information as well as enhanced my prior knowledge.

Learning in an online environment through the use of technology has been very rewarding because it has given me the opportunity to use different types of technology as well as get acquainted with new technology such as skype, blogs, wikis, Google Docs, and rcampus. This type of learning environment makes it possible for me to learn how to use technology properly and effectively in order to complete my assignments as well as make it possible for me to communicate with the instructor and other students that are in the course. There are times when we have to be able to setup, navigate through and share these new technologies with others such as the instructor and my classmates. In other words technology is what makes online learning environment possible. In the face-to-face learning environment technology is not really necessary if the instructor does not want to use it in the classroom. The instructor can stick to just the traditional lecture and textbook type of instructional strategy. Something that is critical and non-negotiable in teaching and learning that I do not agree with is hearing teachers say that a child cannot learn. I feel that all children can learn. In order for all children to learn some children learn at different rates and in different ways. Some teachers try to teach the whole class using the same instructional strategy but it may not work for all the students. These teachers need to find out what is the best instructional strategy or interventions to use with that child in order for them to be successful. According to Reigeluth, the goal of an instructional theory is to “get the highest probability of the desired result (Driscoll, 2005, p. 253).”

Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

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