ICT  IN  EDUCATION:  NEW  HORIZONS  TO  CONSTRUCTIVISM  

 Sergio  GARCIA  CABEZAS  

08-­‐29-­‐2011        

   

     

   

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ICT  IN  EDUCATION:  NEW  HORIZONS  TO  CONSTRUCTIVISM  

 Sergio  GARCIA  CABEZAS  

   

It  is  change,  continuing  change,  inevitable  change,  that  is  the  dominant  factor  in  society  today.  No  sensible  decision  can  be  made  any  longer  without  taking  into  

account  not  only  the  world  as  it  is,  but  the  world  as  it  will  be.    

Isaac  Asimov.      

Constructivism  is  a  pedagogical  theory  about  how  people  learn.  It  argues  that  people  construct  their  own  understanding  and  knowledge  of  the  world.  People  construct  their  own  understanding  of  reality1.  Although  it  is  a  theory  that  has  been  brewing  since  the  1920´s,   it   is   nowdays   with   the   introduction   of   the   Information   and   Comunication  Technologies   (ICT)   when   we   have   new   and   powerfull   ways   to   implement   the  constructivist   thesis   in   classroom.   By   knowing   the   origins   and   thinking   about  constructivism  learning  intervention,  teachers  are  going  to  be  able  to  understand  how  ICT   will   help   us   in   this   task.   They   may   even   try   to   predict   the   impact   that   this  technologies  will  have  in  classrooms  in  future  years.    The  roots  of  constructivism  can  be  traced  back  to  early  last  century.  This  term  was  first  used   in   the   Soviet   Union   around   1920   related   with   architectural   and   literary  expressions.   The   educational   meaning   is   directly   related   to   Piaget2.   According   to  Ackermann,  Piagets  students  not  only  have  their  own  view  and  feelings  of   the  world  but  these  views  are  very  strong  and  robust3.      Also   other   pedagogues   like   Vygotsky,   Brunner   or   Ausbel   will   also   be   part   of   the  construction  of   this   theory4.  Vygostky  brings   to   constructivism   that   further   cognitive  development  is  driven  by  knowledge.  Also  his  social  theories  about  knowledge  leaves  an  interesting  contribution  to  the  teacher´s  role  in  classrooms.  This  contribution  is  the  “Zone  of  Proximal  Development”.  He  claims  that  children  working  in  collaboration  with  an   adult   normaly   did   better   than  when   they  work   alone5.   This  way   of   collaborative  learning  makes  teachers  have  to  redefine  their  role  in  class.  They  are  use  to  learning  in  

                                                                                                               1  Oxford,   R.   «Constructivism:   Shape-­‐Shifting,   Substance,   and   Teacher   Education».   Pedagody   Journal   of  

Education,  s.f.  2  Cárdenas,  C.  «Acercamiento  al  origen  del  constructivismo».  Sinéctica,  Julio  2004.  3 Ackermann,   E.   «Piaget’s   Constructivism,   Papert’s   Constructionism:   What’s   the   difference?»,   s.f.  

http://learning.media.mit.edu/content/publications/EA.Piaget%20_%20Papert.pdf.   (Access   12   augost  2011)  

4  Carretero,  M.  Constructivismo  y  educación.  Buenos  Aires:  Aique,  1994.  5  Vygotsky,  L.  Thought  and  language.  Newly  rev.,  2.  print.  Cambridge    Mass.:  The  MIT  Press,  1987.  

classes  where   the   instructor  was   the  most   important   source  of   knowledge   and  with  constructivism   thesis   they   have   to   change   this   role   and   become   knowledge   guides;  with  the  children,  not  from  a  higher  view.  Vygotsky  proposed  his  thesis  from  the  social  knowledge.   He   proposes   that   knowledge   is   produced   mainly   from   the   interaction  between  humans6.  Building  a  personal  interpretation  of  the  Russian  scientist  it  can  be  said   that  each  person  constructs   their  own  knowledge,  but   is   in   the   interaction  with  others   when   people   tested   this   knowledge   so   we   can   develop   a   constant   and   fluid  activity   within   a   real   context,   not   in   class.   This   is   a   great   challenge   for   educational  technology,  often  criticized  to  promote   individualism.  What  we  need  to  know   is   that  new  laptops  and  tablets  like  iPad  are  being  used  successfully  in  many  schools  as  tools  for  collaborative  work.  For  example,  collaborative  classrooms  have  been  implemented  with  this  technology7.  

Another   of   the   basic   ideas   of   constructivism   is   significant   learning.   According   to  Ausubel8,   this   kind   of   learning   is   first   of   all   long-­‐term   and   permanent.   The   second  feature  about  it  is  that  it  produces  a  cognitive  change  moving  from  a  situation  of  not    knowing   to   knowing.   Finally,   it   is   based   in   experience,   and   depends   on   prior  knowledge.  To  promote  the  significant  learning,  teachers  should  use  a  lot  of  examples  and  require  active  participation  of  the  learner.  How  can  ICT  help  teachers  in  this  task?  For  example,  we  can  use  Interactive  Whiteboards  (IWB)  to  encourage  this  participation  or  the  Internet  to  show  demonstration  close  to  reality.  Altough  we  can  mix  both  things  using  with   the   IWB  and  3D  models   downloaded   from   the  Web.   It´s  more   significant    learning  Ancient  Greek  Architecture    if  children  could  go  into  the  Parthenon  in  a  very  detailed  3D  model  and  explore  it  than  looping  only  at  pictures.  These  two  technologies  together  with  the  use  of  tablets  and  other  hardware  like  interactive  tables  will  be  the  main  components  in  the  development  of  the  constructivism  theory  in  classroom.    Nowdays,   constructivism   is   extended   worldwide   and   accepted   by   teachers   and  research  communities  all  over  the  world.  The  difference  between  old  days  and  today  is  that  now  we  have  new  technologies  that  can  help  us  to  teach  in  a  constructivism  way  in  classrooms.  Teachers  should  go  beyond  the  technology.  This  affirmation  means  that    the   important   thing   is   the   way   of   teaching   and   learning,   not   how   modern   the  technology   should  be   in   classroom.  Technology   is   a  usesless   tool   if   it  does  not  go   in  hand  with    a  pedagogy  style  like  constructivism9.      The  first  technology  that  can  help  promote  a  constructivist  metodology  is  the  Internet.  Not  only  as  an  element  to  display  multimedia  (video,  info,  pictures,  sound)  but,  thanks  to  Web  2.0  and   its  applications,  cooperative  work  and  analysis  that  directly  connects  

                                                                                                               6  Santos  Moreno,  A.  «Tecnología  educativa  ante  el  paradigma  constructivista.»  Revista  Informática  Educativa  

UNIANDES  -­‐  LIDIE  13,  no.  1  (s.f.):  83-­‐94.  7  Saiyed,   G.   «iPads   changing   the   learning   curve   in   Chicago   schools»,   s.f.  

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=177069.  (Access  8  augost  2011)  8  Ausubel,  D.  Theory  and  problems  of  child  development.  3º  ed.  New  York:  Grune  &  Stratton,  1980.  9  García   Cabezas,   S.   «Educación,   TIC   y   Sociedad».   Educacion,   TIC   y   sociedad,   s.f.  

http://www.ticyeducacion.com/.  (Access  14  augost  2011)      

with   the   constructivist   theory.   Using   blogs,   teachers   can   promote   collaborative  analytical  work  among  all  members  of  the  class.   In  addition  to  posts,  these  blogs  can  be  completed  with  embedded  multimedia  material  such  as  video  services  like  YouTube  and  Vimeo  or  Flickr  or  Picassa  photos.  Perhaps  the  best  tool  to  work  in  a  constructive  way  is  the  wiki.  A  wiki  is  a  collaborative  website  that  can  be  directly  edited  by  anyone.  Creator,  Wad  Cunningham,  described  as  "the  simplest  online  database  that  works"10.  In  wikis,  students  will  be  able  to  building  a  collaborative  global  knowledge  of  a  topic  or  subject  matter  becoming  protagonists  and  creating  their  own  knowledge  not  limited  to  a  single  student  but  their  classmates  and  teacher  as  well.  Finally,  social  networks  allow  us   to  work  on   the   social   context  were   the  people   learning   according   to  Vygotsky,   is  developed.   These   social   networks   allow   us   to   continue   the   interactional   space  between   students   and   teachers   in   a   virtual   way,   promoting   new   opportunities   for  communication  and  diversity11.    The  second  technology  to  be  discussed  is  the  interactive  board.  According  to  Marqués,  the  interactive  board  is  the  union  between  a  computer,  a  projector  and  an  interactive  surface  that  allows  us  to  control  the  computer12.  This  tool  will  facilitate  the  work  in  the  classroom  and  especially   the   integration  of  other   technologies   that  make   it  easier   to  work  from  a  constructivist  point  of  view.    The  use  of  computers  in  school  or  substitutes  such  as  tablets  allows  us,  together  with  web   2.0   tools   and  whiteboards,   to   create   true   collaborative   classrooms.  With   these  computers   online   and   in   a   network  we  will   be   able   to   take   full   advantage  of   all   the  techonologies.  Students  could  do  individual  work  and  work  in  pairs  or  large  groups.    All  these  advantages  and  how  fast  technology  develops  leads  us  to  wonder  what  could  be   the  new  paths   that  will  promote  educational   technology.  The  new  products   from  leading  companies  and  research  shows  that  we  can  differentiate  three  different  ways.  On  the  one  side,   the  development  of  computers  and  tablets  specifically  designed  for  education,  which  makes  the   functions  of  notebook  and  textbook.   In   fact,   the  Korean  government   for   the   year   2015   plan   to   replace   of   the   textbook   for   ebooks   spending  more   than   two   billion   dollars13.   On   the   other   hand,   the   use   of   3D   and   augmented  reality  of  companies   like  SMART  Tech  remind  us   that   this  material,   coupled  with   the  interactive   whiteboard,   would   make   significant   learning   easier.   Finally,   the  development  of  the  semantic  Web  3.0  will   influence  how  to   implement  collaborative  tools.   In   a   short   term   we   can   use   online   programs   to   help   more   specific   searches,  collaborative   activities   and   teamwork   more   effective.   Current   tools   such   as   Google  Wave  make  it  posible  to  predict  that  in  a  few  years  we  will  see  similar  but  better  online  services.  

                                                                                                               10  Cunningham,  W.  «What´s  a  wiki»,  2002.  http://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki.  (Access  11  augost  2011)  11  Hernández  Requena,   S.   «El  modelo   constructivista   con   las  nuevas   tecnologías:   aplicado  en  el   proceso  de  

aprendizaje».  Revista  de  universidad  y  sociedad  del  conocimiento.  5,  no.  2  (s.f.):  26-­‐35.  12  Marqués,  P.  «La  pizarra  digital»,  s.f.  http://peremarques.pangea.org/pizarra.htm.  (Access  13  augost  2011)  13Oppenheimer,  A.  «El  desafío  digital  ·∙  ELPAÍS.com»,  s.f.  

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/desafio/digital/elpepiint/20110718elpepiint_7/Tes.  (Access  12  augost  2011)    

 To  conclude  we  can  say  that  educational  technology  will  be  really  useful  to  us  when  it  is  at  the  service  of  pedagogy  and  didactics.  If  this  pedagogy  is  based  on  constructivism,  where   students   construct   their  own  understanding  and  knowledge  of   the  world   and  they  learn  in  a  very  collaborative  way,  technology  will  help  us  in  several  ways.  We  are  going  to  improve  the  significant  learning  and  discover  new  ways  of  develop  the  social  knowledge.     Technologies   such   as   the   Internet,   tablets   or   interactive   boards   will  facilitate  the  way  to   implement  constructivism  in  the  classroom.  And  we  can  be  sure  that  in  the  coming  years,  these  technologies  will  be  much  more  developed  and  we  can  see   the   exciting   future   that   awaits   those   who   want   to   teach   under   the   banner   of  constructivism.  Are  teacher  of  the  future  prepared  for  this  challenge?      

Sergio  García  Cabezas.  UOFT  –  Academic  English  Fundation  Course  2011  

   BIBLOGRAPHY      

• Ackermann,  E.  «Piaget’s  Constructivism,  Papert’s  Constructionism:  What’s  the  difference?»,  s.f.    • Ausubel,   D.  Theory   and   problems   of   child   development.   3o   ed.   New   York:   Grune  &   Stratton,  

1980.  • Cárdenas,  C.  «Acercamiento  al  origen  del  constructivismo».  Sinéctica,  Julio  2004  • Carretero,  M.  Constructivismo  y  educación.  Buenos  Aires:  Aique,  1994.  • Cunningham,  W.  «What´s  a  wiki»,  2002.  http://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki.   (Access  11  

augost  2011)  • García   Cabezas,   S.   «Educación,   TIC   y   Sociedad».   Educacion,   TIC   y   sociedad,   s.f.  

http://www.ticyeducacion.com/.  (Access  14  augost  2011)  • Hernández  Requena,   S.   «El  modelo   constructivista   con   las  nuevas   tecnologías:   aplicado  en  el  

proceso  de  aprendizaje».  Revista  de  universidad  y  sociedad  del  conocimiento.  5,  no.  2  (s.f.):  26-­‐35.  

• Marqués,   P.   «La   pizarra   digital»,   s.f.   http://peremarques.pangea.org/pizarra.htm.   (Access   13  augost  2011)  

• Oppenheimer,  A.  «El  desafío  digital  ·∙  ELPAÍS.com»,  s.f.  http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/desafio/digital/elpepiint/20110718elpepiint_7/Tes.  (Access  12  augost  2011)  

• Oxford,   R.   «Constructivism:   Shape-­‐Shifting,   Substance,   and   Teacher   Education».   Pedagody  Journal  of  Education,  s.f.  http://learning.media.mit.edu/content/publications/EA.Piaget%20_%20Papert.pdf.   (Access   12  augost  2011)  

• Saiyed,   G.   «iPads   changing   the   learning   curve   in   Chicago   schools»,   s.f.  http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=177069.  (Access  8  augost  2011)  

• Santos   Moreno,   A.   «Tecnología   educativa   ante   el   paradigma   constructivista.»   Revista  Informática  Educativa  UNIANDES  -­‐  LIDIE  13,  no.  1  (s.f.):  83-­‐94.  

• Vygotsky,   L.   Thought   and   language.   Newly   rev.,   2.   print.   Cambridge     Mass.:   The   MIT   Press,  1987.