My name is Allison Hafner and I am a Sophomore at the University of South Carolina.  I am majoring in Early Childhood Education and would love to teach Preschool.  I am doing this inquiry project for my EDPY 401 class.  We are having to create a web page with an included response based on our selected video.  The video that I selected is from YouTube and is called" 21st Century Literacy."  It is about incorporating 21st century things into teaching and trying to get the children more interested and involved in learning.  You can first watch this video and then below this you will see a video that I made in response to the original one.  My response video is just summarizing the video and briefly stating how Vygotsky and cognitive load theory support what they are saying.  I enjoyed working on this project.  I hope you enjoy viewing my video and what I have to say about how theories support this. 

"21st Century Literacy" 

Response Video 

     The video I chose is called "21st Century Literacy."  It talks about how the way people communicate is changing and it is so much easier to reach a global audience instantly.  Literacy is evolving and 21st century skills are required to teach students how to succeed in the world.  Being literate is now much more than being able to read and write.  You can not just teach them how to use books for research, write on paper and pencil, and communicate only with their classroom.  Children have to be able to do things such as use a computer, text, and communicate with people worldwide.  In order for them to learn this, teachers should allow them to use these things when communicating and trying to do research.  Not only will it allow them to compete better in a global economy but the students will also be more willing to learn because these are things that they are interested in and motivated by.  Many theories and theorists support this and two of them are Vygotsky and Cognitive Load Theory.

     Vygotsky supports this theory.  He believes that children should be provided "scaffolding" to reach their zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development (ZPD)  is "the range of tasks that a child can perform with the help and guidance of others but cannot yet perform independently" (Ormrod 36).  In order for the child to master the tasks within their ZPD you have to "keep students motivated to complete the task" (Ormrod 41).  By using 21st century tools, you are going to be able to motivate most students and have them wanting to learn.  They are not interested in the "old" ways of doing things and this will not help them achieve their ZPD. 

     Cognitive Load Theory also supports this theory.  This states that when children have to think about to many things too often then they reach overload.  They usually get nervous because they do not understand what is being taught to them and distracts them from learning.  When you use old methods, such as books, the children will only be able to see text describing it.  If you try to use 21st century tools, the children will know how to use them easier and will be able to research about the topic online and find things such as videos that will be able to explain the topic in a clearer way.

     Teachers should really consider using 21st century tools in the classroom.  They will not only motivate the children to learn but it will make it more learning more interesting and easier to understand.  These are the things that students use daily and they will help them compete in the global economy when they become adults.  

Works Cited

Ormrod, Jeanne.  "Educational Psychology Developing Learners." Ohio: Pearson, 2006.