I have a very constructivist philosophy of education, and I very much so align my beliefs with the Russian philosopher Lev Vygotsky. I believe that students learn best with constant peer interaction, working together and in groups. In the real working world every person is not expected to have an answer to every question that presents itself. Rather we use our co workers and bosses as different agencies for finding information and solving problems. I believe that we should show our students how to use one another as sources of help, instead of expecting sameness from them. It is important that we work as a community to solve life's problems.
Technology is something that I feel pretty comfortable with. I remember being very young and having a dial up computer in my basement. We couldn't use it when my mom was on the phone, but me and my sisters would take turns playing solitaire on the computer, waiting to see the cards dance and jump across the screen.
In today's day and age technology is in our everyday life. We carry our phones around as if it is our life blood, because it's possible that we could drop dead if we can't contact our friends at any given moment. This can be both a good thing and a negative. I think in the classroom it is important to teach our students how to use technology as a tool and resource for the world's plethora of information. Technology is an important part of education, but sometimes it is simply used as a substitute for paper and pencil. It is our responsibility as teachers to show kids that technology is a instrument, not a life line.
