This document discusses how information and communication technologies (ICT) can support constructivism in education. It begins by providing background on constructivism, noting it is a theory that knowledge is constructed by learners based on their experiences. The document then discusses several founders of constructivism, including Piaget, Vygotsky, and Ausubel. A key point of Vygotsky's work is the role of social interaction and collaboration in knowledge construction. The document concludes by arguing ICT tools like interactive whiteboards and the internet can help teachers implement constructivist approaches by facilitating active participation and drawing on real-world examples to promote significant learning.

1.
ICT
IN
EDUCATION:
NEW
HORIZONS
TO
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Sergio
GARCIA
CABEZAS
08-­‐29-­‐2011
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2. 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
Piaget 2 .
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.

3. 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
o
UNIANDES
-­‐
LIDIE
13,
n .
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)

4. 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
o
aprendizaje».
Revista
de
universidad
y
sociedad
del
conocimiento.
5,
n .
2
(s.f.):
26-­‐35.
12
Marqués,
P.
«La
pizarra
digital»,
s.f.
http://peremarques.pangea.org/pizarra.htm.
(Access
13
augost
2011)
13
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)

5.
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
o
proceso
de
aprendizaje».
Revista
de
universidad
y
sociedad
del
conocimiento.
5,
n .
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/T
es.
(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
o
Informática
Educativa
UNIANDES
-­‐
LIDIE
13,
n .
1
(s.f.):
83-­‐94.
• Vygotsky,
L.
Thought
and
language.
Newly
rev.,
2.
print.
Cambridge
Mass.:
The
MIT
Press,
1987.