Comic Strip
Why do you think a constructivist approach to learning with technology is often recommended?
This comic strip shows a technology-enhanced constructivist classroom as students are using their own knowledge and understand as well as using technology to present that learning. The type of constructivist approach used in this comic strip is social constructivism. This is because students are explaining the meanings and understanding on our social ideas, which in this case it is summer safety. The teacher in this comic strip is bringing in an active learning teaching strategy by bringing in a student-centred learning activity as the role of the students is to engage in the activity and is relying on the student's pre-knowledge to complete this task (Harasim, 2017).
Technology has been brought into this constructivist classroom by the students creating a PowerPoint presentation to present their information. Digital technology allows this to happen as this type of technology gives students the opportunity to present facts, concepts and skills in a multimodal and interactive way (Bower, 2017).
A constructivist approach is learning constructed through learning and text. This is done through active engagement by students and teachers, student culture, students background and perspective as well as problem-solving. A constructivist approach can be linked in technology as technology can foster motivation and critical thinking. A constructivist approach and technology also link together by ensuring that learning is a process.
I think that a constructivist approach to learning with technology because as a constructivist approach involves students to use their “own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing the world and reflecting on those experiences” (Harasim, 2017, p. 62). Technology allows students to have a constructivist approach to their learning as students can use technology for questioning, investigating, independence and personal expressions to knowledge which links with a constructivist approach. Technology allows students to have authentic learning experiences as the learning design is ‘student-centred’ (Allsop, 2016).
Teachers are recommended to adopt a constructivist approach to learning with technology to allow students to figure out the learning tasks for themselves. A constructivist approach allows teachers to instead of repeating learning tasks that students should know, teachers can be involved in the learning conversations. This gives students another point of view and different information that they can use when they are completing the task (Bower, 2017). This means that teachers can imply their knowledge and skills to educate the students (McLeod, 2019). An example of this may be that the teacher is explaining what a website is informing.