The elements of a framework

The protagonists of the teaching-learning are the students and teachers, so that when analyzing the implications of Computer Education, should be taken into account these two fundamental elements.

With respect to students and the impact of computer use in education, the first thing can be said is that the way to use the computer in the classroom is closely linked to the Theories of Learning.

When the computer came into use in education, was closely related to associative thinking. The basis of this model of learning is the stimulus-response relationship and the trial of the action of the child or the child is limited to choosing between "right" and "wrong", "good" and "bad" or "some" and "false." If the computer handles the tasks of this type, for example, the teaching of the mechanical processes of arithmetic or the rules of accentuation, the teacher is relieved of this work and can focus, in principle, to provide its students an understanding of these processes and their implementation. But this scheme is too simplistic. To consider other options in using the computer as a teaching assistant should review what has happened in the field of theories of education and cognitive psychology.

Solso's review makes the child's psychological development shows that during most of the twentieth century, two theories that dominated thinking in this field were those of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky then. Piaget proposed four stages in cognitive development: sensorimotor stage 0 to 2 years of age, the preoperative stage 2 to 7 years, the concrete operational stage from 7 to 12 years and the operations phase formal 12 to 15 years. For its part, Vygotsky defined three stages: The social stage, from 0 to 3 years, characterized by the formation of relationships between objects, the egocentric stage of 3 to 7 years, characterized by the formation of networks of concepts and stage of the inner self, age 7 onwards, characterized by abstract concepts.

But it was not until the sixties when it developed a new perspective, due to Gagné, psychological explanation for the learning and behavioral model was integrated into a scheme primarily cognitive, which highlights the importance of meaningful learning . While the behavioral model established that learning was determined by the response to a stimulus, and on the other hand, theories of cognitive development were the characterization of the various mental operations at different ages, the new theoretical framework speaks of eight types of learning that on going development of the individual is less important behavioral response to stimuli and is gaining importance abstract thinking.

The first type of learning is learning signs, which is learning to respond to a signal, for example, to line up when the bell rings to end recess. The second, Stimulus-response learning, as when using the computer to exercise the basic arithmetic operations and get "points" for each exercise correctly. The third is the chain that connects a series of two or more associations Stimulus-Response, for example, to beat the computer in a game.