Is that all technology can offer?

I am studying to become a teacher therefore I am learning how to teach and what to teach growing young minds, but how do we now if what our students are actually learning is meaningful? This week I read a very interesting journal What is Meaningful Learning? (Jonassen, D., et al) he speaks about learning being a natural process but for students to learn they must be engaged; this is where technology comes in. Often I find we believe that by sticking children in front of an ‘educational video’ they will find this exciting and be interested and as a result learn, however is that all that technology can offer? No, Jonassen et al recognises that in the classroom technology is used as almost a replacement teacher, “where the students role is to learn the information presented by the technology” just as it is with the teacher. However technology has the potential to engage students and challenge them to think constructively, solve problems and complete research tasks for themselves. I particularly agree with Jonassen’s idea that students should teach the computer to represent what they know rather than memorise what the computer knows. You can see that a student has truly learnt something memorable if they are then able to represent it themselves, technology provides this opportunity.  It is time we see that technology has more to offer than animations, or games on the internet that can occupy a class for a spare five minutes but instead it is a “vehicle for exploring knowledge”.


Jonassen, D. et al (2008). What is meaningful learning? In D. Jonassen et al.(Eds).Meaningful learning with technology. 3rd Edtn. pp1-12. Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, N.J.


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