Today there is a need for a better trained workforce.

Consequently, there is a big rush to flood schools with new computers and technology.

But simply adding technology to a school will not produce more intelligent students or a more advanced workforce.

There are many THINGS that need to accompany computers into the classroom.

Of course, there are the basic requirements for quality software, technical support, networking, etc., but the two most important requirements are staff training and a shift from behaviorism to constructivism.

Staff training simply means that schools, school districts and the State Department of Education must budget for the time and money it takes to train the teachers in addition to buying the hardware and software.

Teachers and support staff need time to spend learning how to workthe programs and how to integrate them into their curriculums. This requirement is many times overlooked by technology planners.

The topic of behaviorism vs. constructivism may be new to many readers.

Most of us know all about behaviorism. Behaviorism employs a system of rewards and punishments to make students complete assignments and tests and, ultimately, learn.

For the majority of us, we grew up under such a system. Good grades, stickers, and candy (and don’t forget “free time”, the time you could spend doing fun things — anything but schoolwork), were the incentives for completing worksheets, studying for tests, pleasing the teacher and learning the fragments of isolated facts.

Now, good grades and stickers don’t seem like bad things when considered alone, but think about what they’re used for.

Instead of learning or accomplishment being the reward, extrinsic motivation is used to make a student do something the teacher assumes the student does not want to do. Ever wonder why we all hate homework?

And there is also the flip side of the equation: punishment. The fear of bad grades, losing recess, more homework — as if it wasn’t bad enough to begin with —ÿand being sent to the principal were (are) all ways of trying to make students do their schoolwork. We all know how they work.

Now, back to the main subject. Why don’t behaviorism and technology work together?

Many behaviorist teachers resort to using computers as electronic worksheets or as game machines (yes, another extrinsic reward).

This poor use of computers ignores the potential of technology in the classroom. The computer is the greatest tool ever made.

Behaviorism does not emphasize the problem solving and individualized learning process, two things the computer is designed to do.

Constructivism builds off of problem solving and individualized learning.

The theory of constructivism calls on the students to construct knowledge by researching, experimenting, and collaborating with peers.

It stresses student empowerment and student-centered learning over teacher or textbook prescribed homework.

Teachers in constructivist classrooms act as facilitators and coaches, not as the primary source of all knowledge.

Students are taught to research information and create their own knowledge from their findings.

Learning is individualized because students find answers to the things they are interested in; they are not limited to the subjects of a textbook.

The rewards for a finished project are ownership, confidence, and achievement.

Constructivism creates an environment friendly to student exploration and creativity. Students are encouraged to expand and create their own knowledge. Conversely, behaviorism attempts to control a student’s environment so he or she learns only what is assigned by the lesson.

But what does the computer have to do with constructivism? On the journey toward knowledge, what better tool could a student ask for than a computer?

A computer allows the student to manipulate data, make presentations, and communicate with the world outside of the classroom. The computer is a student’s companion in a constructivist classroom.

In the constructivist classroom you will find students using computers to word process, data process, run simulations, talk to peers half way across the world and make present their findings to both their classmates and the rest of the world.

You won’t find them using computers for answering multiple choice tests.

Adding computers to schools is a good idea. But without a change in the way we teach, teaching with computers will suffer the same problems the rest of education suffers from: disinterested and unmotivated students.

Jamey Hansen is a senior in elementary education from NAS Sigonella, Sicily. He is the editor in chief of the Iowa State Daily.