Lesson 11

The Computer as the Teacher’s Tool

In this lesson, we shall again look at the computer, but this time from another perspective the computer as the teacher’s handy-tool. It can in fact support the constructivist and social constructivist paradigms of learning.

Constructivism was introduced by Piaget (1981) and Bruner (1991). They gave stress to knowledge discovery of new meaning/ concepts/ principles in the learning process. Various strategies have been suggested to foster knowledge discovery, among these, is making students engaged in gathering unorganized information from which they can induce ideas and principles.

          While knowledge is constructed by the individual learner in constructivism, knowledge can also be socially constructed. Social constructivism is an effort to show that the construction of knowledge is governed by social, historical and cultural contexts.

The psychologists Vygotsky stressed that the learning is affected by social influences. He therefore, suggested the interactive process in learning. The more capable adults (teacher or parent) or classmate can aid or complement what the learner sees in a given class project. In addition, Dewey sees language as a medium for social coordination and adaptation. For Dewey human learning is really human languaging that occurs when students socially share, build and agree upon meanings and knowledge.

Learning framework	Constructivism	Social Constructivism
Assumption	Knowledge is constructed by the individual	Knowledge is constructed within a social context
Definition of learning	Students build their own learning	Students build knowledge influenced by the social context
Learning Strategies	Gather unorganized information to create new concept/ principle	Exchange and share from ideas, stimulates thinking
General Orientation	Personal discovery of knowledge	Students discuss and discover meanings
Example	8*5 -8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8	Two alternative job offers Option 1 – 8 hrs. /day for 6 days/week Option 2 – 9 hrs. /day for 5 days/week

The Computer’s Capabilities

                

         Given its present-day speed, flexibility and sophistication, the computer can provide access to information, foster creative social knowledge-building, and enhance the communication of the achieved project package.

              

Based on the two learning theories, the teacher can employ the computer as a/an:

·         An information tool

·         A communication tool

·         A constructive tool

·         As co-constructive tool

·         A situating tool

      Informative tool. The computer can provide vast amounts of information in various forms, such as text, graphics, sound, and video. Even multimedia encyclopedias are today available on the Internet.

Constructive tool. The computer itself can be used for manipulating information, visualizing ones understanding, building new knowledge. The Microsoft Word computer program itself is desktop publishing software that allows users to organize and present their ideas in attractive formats.

        Co-constructive tool. Students can use co-constructive tools to work cooperatively and construct a shared understanding of new knowledge.

Situating tool. By means of virtual reality (RS) extension systems, the computer can create 3-D images on display to give the user the feeling that are situated in a virtual environment.

REFLECTION:

        

       Computer is an effective tools for the students to learn. The effectiveness of a classroom can be depending on how the teacher let the students use a computer in their class. If you don’t incorporate the computers, the class will be a bit boring.

APPLICATION

 it is effective to the learners but we need to guide them first on how to use this properly and what are advantages and disadvantages.