"Techno - Resisters"

Do you recall the name Lev Vygotsky? His name more than likely popped up during your undergrad Ed. Psyc. Class. How about the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)? Just in case your memory is a bit blurred, the ZPD refers to the physical and socio-cultural environment in which children learn. Think about that and the physical and socio-cultural environment in which you grew up as it compares to today. Vygotsky, in his work, talks about how critical the parent’s role is in a child’s development. The teacher also is a critical component to a child’s ZPD. Sure, children are very capable of learning on their own. We all know learning is significantly enhanced with help from people and objects around them. Today, technology is a huge part of a child’s ZPD. It opens the door wide to personalized, differentiated learning to better address the needs of each child. Think about classroom teachers and the ZPD in which they learned as a child. Differences, yes. Thinking about the ZPD and how we often are faced with teachers reluctant to use technology …I wonder how high the correlation is between ZPD and a teacher’s acceptance of technology use in the classroom. Hmmm! This is deep, but I can’t help wondering. Are you thinking professional development…train them? You can do that with some until the cows come home and there will be little to no difference in technology use in classroom instruction. What’s the answer? How do we get the “techno-resisters” to enter the ZPD in which children learn today?