Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Meaningful Learning

         Whenever I was reading this article, I was able to link the pentagon of meaningful learning with things we have learned in my educational psychology class.  The five different ways of learning listed are active, constructive, cooperative, authentic, and intentional.  I agree that these are the five meaningful learning techniques because all students learn differently.  Say I want to learn how to use excel, and I learn better through observing others, while my classmate learns better through hands on and demonstration.  In order to reach both of us effectively, the learning would have to be both active and constructive.  With technology, I believe that active learning is the best approach, but that is just my own opinion.  “The effectiveness of each technology has been determined by how effectively it communicates ideas to students.”  That quote stuck out to me because I agree one hundred percent.  If the technology being used is not affecting the student in any way, then it should not be used.  Technology is a wonderful thing that has become so prominent in our world today, teachers just need to know when it should and should not be used, and how it should be used.