Ellis: Mr. Vygotsky, I would like to now shift the focus away from some of the theory and see how some of it could apply to our classrooms today. In particular, I would like to discuss the technology that we ar using in the classrooms. What do you think of the use of technology and how would you recommend using it?

Vygotsky: The most fundamental advice I can give you as a starting point, would be to never lose sight of the fact that the things you are using in the classroom environment such as the whiteboard, or textbooks and what do you call those machines again?

Ellis: Computers.

Vygotsky: Oh yes, computers. These things cannot replace the relationship of the teacher, or the experience of actually doing a task. Also, the relationship between the students in the class is very important because this is where a student will learn from societal and cultural events. It is not enough to read material in a book as it is to experience the actual function. Take being a teacher for example. You went through at least 4 years of college to learn to teach, did you not?

Ellis: Yeah, and we had to do a whole semester of actually teaching students at a local school, which was called cooperative teaching.

Vygotsky: Alright then, would you say that you were as good a teacher then as you are after 10 years of teaching?

Ellis: No, I'm much better now, as a matter of fact I'm very confident in what I do.

Vygotsky: You see, without the actual experience, and the formal training before it, you had no means to connect information with life experience. Why do you feel that now that you have more experience you are a better teacher?

Ellis: Because in the "real world" as we like to call it these days, all sorts of experiences and problems arise that you would not normally expect or could learn from a text book. Also, I have learned a lot from being around other teachers and sharing their experiences and knowledge as well as taking more classes.

Vygotsky: So, now you have the various stages of learning at work while you are actually teaching. To get back to what I was saying about using all of this technology with your students, If you use these "computers" in your class, then you need have methods that will enable the students to communicate with you as well as each other.

Ellis: The students do have opportunities, using the computers and other things, to work in pairs and in groups.

Vygotsky: That is a very important principle to remember. Students learn from interaction with culture and each other. Humans are interactive beings, we do not operate in a bubble even when we are working. Another aspect that you need to remember is that many of the social interactions that a student is experiencing is also being internalized and learned. So, you could say that not only are social interactions being internalized, but many of the skills needed to survive are also being learned through this process.

Ellis: OK, so other than social interaction, what other recommendations would you make to teachers in the 21st century concerning the use of the new tools or technology in the classroom?

Vygotsky: I would say that if you have the opportunity to actually get your students involved in an experience or activity that will be essential to their education, then you will be helping them learn much more effectively. The reading, memorization and solving of problems will have a much more dramatic effect on your students if they have actual "real world " experiences, as you like to call them. Giving a student a math problem, for example, will have much more significance if they are applying it to building a model boat or airplane.

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