1B-4 - Activity 4 - Is there a need for Teachers?

After reading both articles I realise that both experts Vygotsky and Dr. Mitra have provided enough evidence to prove that  children do come to school with some amount of previous knowledge and that it is the Teachers job to build on this foundation.
Vygotsky postulates that teachers should use the previous knowledge of the children to assist them in developing thier curriculum so that the previous knowledge can be a pivot or 'jump off' point and to help stimulate the new learnning that is to take place.  Dr. Mitra's experiments on the other hand shows to us that children can learn without being in a "formal" classroom environment.
I can definitely see how both theories presented by these experts can be used to assist me in my teaching as I seek to continue to integrate  ICT into my teaching. However, for this to take place I first must be aware of what is to be learnt and what knowledge is to be passed on to the students and what are the appropriate methods will be used to pass on that knowledge.
However, my highlight of this activity is that the writings indicate that the emphasis must be on the students and their learning and that my colleagues are in agreement that cooperative learning is one of the most powerful methods of teaching.
Placing children into groups and allowing them to experiment, explore and work together on their own can bring about tremendous results. But for this process to be successful the teacher plays an integral role. For it is with proper facilitation by the teacher in offering guidance and support by setting the rules which govern the group dynamics and the assessment of the group activity that one can fully assess the cooperative learning process.