Marty's week 2 reflection: Constructivism with software

I wrote in my posts:
"Today’s classroom is a blend of old-school, traditional teaching and a constructivist-type of teaching/learning environment. These teaching methods are not mutually exclusive. We are going in the right direction to teach our students in this constructivist manner using technology as an enabler. We also must remember that all the technology in the world does not, in and of itself, make the instruction more effective. It takes trained, caring, strategizing teachers to make the classroom experience the best and most effective learning experience for our children."

Software is one of these enablers to help teachers best teach our students in a modern, constuctivist manner. In order for these students to get the best learning experience and true knowledge of our subjects, we must teach in this constructivist manner. The challenges with this are threefold (as I see them from outside the classroom): teachers must accept this methodology and be trained to best utilize the software, administrations must put a high priority in paying for the most effective software and training, and we must get over the NCLB standardized testing which pushes us to teaching to the rote memory of our students.

We must overcome these challenges to best teach our children and prepare them for the "big world" outside of school".

v/r, marty kaz