EDLD 5364: Week 1 Reflection

This week's knowledge focused mainly on three types of learning styles: Constructivist Theory, the Connective Theory and the Cyborg Theory. Being a Technology Teacher, the Cyborg Theory was of great interest to me. Upon watching the Cyborg Theory YouTube video, I was impressed on how scientists want to level the playing field for both humanism and technology. To support what the video was saying, an article that I had read described the Cyborg Theory as, “…not view(ing) technology as other or separate from human but rather see technological advance on par with human evolution; both, one and the same.” (McPheeters, 2009) As an educator I believe that technology should be a part of the classroom, and that educators should always use the most recent technology. However, sometimes I think that we can get a bit ahead of ourselves when it comes to how powerful technology can be. For instance, on the Cyborg Theory video, Mr. Warkwick tells about his experience of having an RFID chip as well as another type of chip implanted into himself. He goes on to tell that he could sense various signals with the chip that he had not experience with out the implant.

The other two learning theories seemed similar. I could heavily relate to the Constructivist Theory mostly because this is the way that I try to run my classroom. As an elementary teacher, my goal is to utilize the Constructivist Theory by laying a solid foundation of knowledge, and then building upon that foundation. I am always asking students to use any prior knowledge to help them understand a new concept that they may be encountering. Once the student bridges the connections of the two, students are able to understand and recognize how they used their foundational knowledge to accomplish more advance concepts.

McPheeters, D. (n.d.). TechLearning: Social Networking Technologies in Education by Dallas McPheeters. Classroom Tech Learning, Education, PC, Mac, iPad, Bloom’s Taxonomy – Techlearning.com. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from http://www.techlearning.com/article/social-networking-technologies-in-education-by-dallas-mcpheeters/45734