If a goal of education is to prepare students for their role in society, we must equip them with the skills they will need to be able to access and use the technologies and information they are confronted with. Because of the abundance of technology in modern society, many educators believe that children have begun to process information in a different way than they have before. They no longer process information in a linear fashion, such as reading from a text. They have become accustomed to being in control of their access to information via the Internet and television programming as well as interactive toys and games. Some educators believe that the answer to teaching children who have learned to process information in this way is constructivism.
Constructivism is a child-centered theory of learning that has been around for a long time.
Dewey, Montessori, Bruner and Vygotsky were all proponents of constructivism. This theory proposes that children construct knowledge based on their experiences. Consequently, a constructivist classroom is one in which hands-on activities are stressed. Many educators believe that the use of technology in a constructivist classroom is a very effective method of instruction. The links below provide more information on this topic.