Last nights class began to bring some clarity to constructivism and constructionism. It seems to be about context and power. However, this is a major component of the foucs for my major paper. I still have many unanswered questions and further reading to do.

One could argue that giving up ‘control’ and moving towards constructionism may be an easy sell with some educators who make statements like “A four year old knows more about computers than I do.” Also in many classroms that I work in the computers for example are off to the side of the room and the teacher engages in very little interaction with the child. It is often seen as a reward.

I think the concerns and critisims about the social enviroment we explored last night are valid. It will be important for educators to model critical thinking and believe that children are capable of thinking critically. For example, most four year olds can tell you why there are toys in cereal. However, I am really inspired by the role educators can play in creating spaces for children to use technology to create their own games, social words and virtual realities.

I am planning to give a camera to a group of children next week in a class I am visiting to see what they do.