Constructivist

Margot’s development of online learning activities are strongly reflected in the components of Constructivist Learning Theory discussed in Chapter 2, Review of Literature. From Ally (2004) this theory contends that “learners learn best when they can contextualize what they learn for immediate application and when they learn to acquire personal meaning” (p. 7). Table 4.17 below presents examples from Margot’s comments, advice to teachers and observations set out against features expected to be found in a constructivist learning environment.

Table 4.17 Margot: Features of Constructivist Observed in Descriptions of Online Learning Activities Features Ally (2004)

expected in a learning environment based on Constructivist Learning

Theory

Features Margot’s Descriptions of Online Forums, Chatrooms and WIKIs

Strategies to make learning an active process.

“When they first open the forums and their teaching systems, this one boy wrote, “The network outcome’s coming up and I'm absolutely scared stiff. Do I know everything I need to know?” Now, it was the best thing ever because we only have five kids in the class; everybody contributed to that forum, even though we see the kid every day. They're on MSN to him all the time sending messages to him saying, “Don’t forget you have to know this and . . this and this” (CTran-473).

Opportunities for learners to construct their own

knowledge.

“When I marked those WIKIs, any information had to be paraphrased; all their own words and all the references had to be documented” (CTran-523).

An environment that encourages collaborative learning is promoted.

“Then I contributed . . . these are the study skills, key knowledge . . . . We all worked it together; the forum thing was just the best ever” (CTran-471).

Margot’s enthusiasm for online chats, forums and WIKIs provides many examples that fit well with components of the Constructivist Learning environment identified in Ally (2004). She explained how she used the chat site to help students who were grappling with computer coding activities late at night. “That’s another thing . . . the chats are guarded all the time [Student] ‘I can’t do this code; this code doesn’t work!’ And I go, Oh, it’s that line you know. You get stuff like that “(CTran-781).

Despite her long standing knowledge of computing techniques, Margot had never been personally interested in providing instructional material on CD ROMS. “I went straight to online [with forums and WIKIs]” (CTran-471). And she observed that instructional material prepared for an online learning environment had to be of a very high standard because students often used it unsupervised and because parents were inclined to check it. “Look, it takes three times longer to develop an online course, okay, than if I were just to scribble something up or run [off] at the mouth in class, on the fly. It takes three times longer and everything I prepare here, it has to be top class stuff because [of] the parents” (CTran-855). Irrespective of this attitude to online lessons, she had made it her responsibility to provide a reliable repository for online instructional material and curriculum documents that the school community could access at any time from any location. “We have this crabby- ass Intranet here where I can throw files on the system, but to have it in MOODLE made so much more sense, because it’s always there. But also the kids can access it although they can't access it by the Net” (CTran-471).

Margot explained how constructing a WIKI provided an environment where her students could work collaboratively and learn to enhance the quality of the knowledge they were constructing. As a group the students assessed the quality of various websites, “and we went over what’s a good website and what’s a crap website. So, that had to be done or else nobody would trust their WIKI” (CTran-525). Margot stressed the importance of ensuring that the information each individual contributed to the group was reliable. “I said, “If you were working in a class and you’re doing Renaissance history, and you put some stuff up, the people in the class have to trust you” (CTran-527). Within the process of constructing a WIKI Margot’s students were taught how to cite sources. “So, you need to document where you've got everything, etcetera, etcetera . . . . [because] no one’s going to use your WIKI if it’s balderdash” (CTran-532).

In summary Margot’s strategy to fulfil her role as an ICT manager was to facilitate access to a reliable up-to-date network and then work with those teachers who wanted to use computers in some way in their classrooms. For some teachers, this involved utilising the MOODLE platform to make their subject outlines and class notes available to the school community via the school’s network. For other teachers, it became developing collaborative learning practices with WIKIs, forums and chat rooms. Margot has always loved real-time communication technology, be it ham radio conversations, or online chats and forums. “There are people that hate forums; I love forums. I get a lot of information from forums and people are responding to threads and things . .

.” (CTran-423). In her own classroom Margot has built collaborative learning activities around communication technology.

In the next section 4.3.3 the artifacts, observations and comments by Margot were further examined for evidence of advantages identified by Ally (2004). For Ally, the Internet provides the access to up-to-date and relevant learning materials, communication with experts in the field and the ability to provide feedback and to direct learners to materials appropriate to learning outcomes.

4.3.3 Education and the Internet

i. extended/broadened opportunities for collaborative learning

ii. access to ongoing real-time discussion on topics of interest to her

iii. a chance to foster enthusiasm for collaborative learning among other teachers.

Margot’s descriptions of online learning activities which fitted well with Constructivist Learning theory were examined in relation to Piaget’s (1952) concluding remarks about the role of

construction or invention in The Origins of Intelligence in Children. Piaget suggests “the

problem of invention which in many respects constitutes the central problem of intelligence, does not, in the hypothesis of the schemata, require any special solution because the organization which assimilatory activity reveals is essentially construction and so is, in fact, invention, from the outset” (p. 418). For Piaget accommodation is “constructing relationships”, assimilation is “incorporating experience into the current universe” and intelligence is “the construction of relationships and not only identification” (p.418). This could describe Margot’s creative use of communication technologies in her teaching. in that it allows her to model her enthusiasm and capacity for invention directly to her students, encourage them to construct relationships and help them to incorporate their experience into the current universe. This notion is considered in a comparison of findings across all cases in Cross –case Findings, Chapter 5.

Finally, the researcher concludes that Margot sees her own learning as ongoing and her current use of the Internet as a stage in the process of finding new ways to communicate ideas. As a consequence Margot believes the Internet is “a tool, it’s a web tool, but it’s not the be all and end all” (CTran-533).