The first week of EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology introduced students to three learning theories: construtivism, connectivism, and cyborg theories. Of these three theories, connectivism is the one that I am most familiar. I think that this a natural form of learning. As we take in new information, our tendency is to connect it to what we already know in order to make sense of it. This is why it is so important as teachers to either build background knowledge or activate schema before introducing a new concept.
The connectivism theory seems to be all the rage right now. In my school district, the administrators do walk-throughs as a form of teacher evaluation. Several years back, this evaluation listed what the teacher was doing. Beginning last year, the evaluations moved away from the teachers actions and now focus only on what the students are doing. Teachers are becoming facilitators of learning, rather than the source of all learning.
The cyborg theory was by far the most radical view of the three. I enjoyed watching the video featuring researcher Kevin Warwick, who in 1998 implanted a silicon chip that was connected to his nervous system. This video both intrigued and frightened me. After viewing this video, I realized that it is possible to create a hybrid of man and machine. Warwick goes so far as to say that in the future, education will no longer be necessary, because we will be able to download information, images, and memories directly into our brains.
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a Personal Event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved March 1, 2012 from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html
Warwirk, K. (nd). Cyborg Life YouTube.com. Retrieved on March 1, 2012 from http://www.hyoutube.com/watch?v=RB_L7SY_ngI
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