Osborne 1

Brittany Osborne
28 August 2016
Reading 1
Reflection on Meaningful Learning with Technology
When most people think about technology in education, they imagine the standard tooold television set strapped to a rolling cart, ready to play VHSs of educational programs most
likely filmed before the students viewing were even born, or perhaps they imagine the newer
laptops, loaded down with math programs designed to teach students at their own pace, but the
concepts are simply taken out of context. These ways of using technology in educational settings
are what Jonassen specifically says are not conducive to learning with technology, but rather
from it. Then how does he suggest students can learn with technology? In short, he asserts that
technology should be used to support students learning, provide authentic context for their
learning, allow for collaboration, and facilitate reflection of topics learned. In these ways,
technology can lead to meaningful learning not just rote memorization, learned for endless
standardized tests but true, gained knowledge. Jonassen states that this kind of learning has 5
characteristics: it must be active, constructive, cooperative, authentic, and intentional, each of
which can be assisted or facilitated by the incorporation of technology in educational settings. He
also provides the ISTE NET, 21st Century Skills, and TPACK standards of learning with
technology, demonstrating the different manners in which technology can be used, and what
kinds of knowledge can be gained from the use of technology.
Technology in education is a more recent phenomenon, rapidly growing larger and with
more varied uses as technological progress continues at an exponential rate. Gone are the days of

Osborne 2
VHS Bill Nye videos and touch-typing on typewriters; instead, educators are using SmartBoards,
online discussion boards, virtual labs, and so much more with the vast array of tools that
technology has provided. These tools, currently used largely to support the standardized mode of
learning, can be the spark that begins an educational shift away from learning for funding, but
rather, learning for understanding. The different standards provided in the reading create a larger
picture of what could be in the educational world, if educators and policy makers allowed for
meaningful learning by students, assisted by technological advances that will not only help them
learn more effectively and efficiently, but will support their knowledge base of technology in a
world that is increasingly reliant on it.
In regards to how students learn, and what kind of knowledge they glean, Jonassen does a
wonderful job of covering each type of knowledge that a student may gain, but also is thorough
in his analysis of the characteristics of meaningful learning, in other words, how and why
students truly learn. This is not memorization, but lifelong knowledge, which Jonassen argues is
more accessible to all students with the help of technology in the classroom. Where teachers may
fail to be able to assist every student at once, technology is able to be personalized, helping to
teach at the students rate, allowing for collaboration, and providing real world experiences and
examples that allow for the application of knowledge in daily life problems.
Overall, while technology can be overwhelmingly useful in a wide variety of educational
settings, it does nothing to assist meaningful learning if educational policy makers continue to
standardize knowledge and learning as they do now, and meaningful learning will arise through
technology in an educational shift that will hopefully be seen in the very near future.