The learning technology that I would like to highlight is one that I worked with several years ago known as Synergistics Modular Laboratories. My classroom had approximately 12 computers stations. Each station had a “Module” that would provided students with step by step instructions on how to complete it.

Video Production, Forensic Science, Horticulture, Small Engines, CNC Milling, were among the modules that the students got to interact with. Along with the software, there were actual tools and equpiment of the occupation that would provide students with real-world, hands-on experiences. For example, the Small Engines Module came equipped with an actual engine and tools to carry out the instructions provided in the module.

This experience, in my view, bridged that divide between theory and practice and helped students to make concrete connections between the tangible and the intangible. In another jurisdiction where I had worked prior to this experience, students did not have the luxury of such resources and quite frequently had no way of making in sort of practical association between what was being taught and how that same thing functioned or even looked in real life.

Students can learn about germination for an entire school year, but until they have actually planted a seed and witness some kind of growth from that seed, they will never be able to put the process into a concrete context and the learning would be nothing more than just a superficial idea.