Knowledge construction with social web tools

Abstract

This paper examines knowledge construction in a distributed learning environment supported by social web tools. Research data was gathered from online asynchronous discussions in a first-year Masters Degree course in Multimedia in Education. Our analysis was modeled on Gunawardena, Lowe and Anderson's (1997) study and results indicate that, despite a significant percentage in the phase of sharing and comparing information, interaction at the highest levels of knowledge construction is relevant and suggests that knowledge was constructed. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.