Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts as Constructivist Learning Tools

This is the first of many postings I plan to write on the use of three new tools - blogs, wikis, and podcasts - in education. In this article I will define constructivism, as well as blogs, wikis, and podcasts, and list some links to websites where you can learn more about constructivism and these three tools that assist the teacher in creating a constructivist learning environment.

Every few years a new learning theory ending in the suffix "ism" captures the attention of educators and is favored by them until the next hot "ism" appears on the scene. For at least the first sixty years of the Twentieth Century behavorism dominated both the worlds of psychology and learning theory. If you want to learn more about it, go to Wikipedia and look the term up. About 40-45 years ago the cognitive learning theory of Jean Piaget became popular. Piaget was a Swiss developmental psychologist who spent most of his long life researching how children learn. Unlike the behaviorists, Piaget recognized the importance of the mind in creating learning. Please look him up in Wikipedia if you want to learn more about him and his work.

Constructivist learning theory builds upon cognitive theory rather than refuting it. Piaget is considered the father of constructivism as well as cognitive learning theory. My own definition of constructivism is that people learn best when they construct their own learning. Wikipedia has an interesting article on constructivist learning theory. My intention in this posting is to introducethe three tools mentioned at the beginning of this discussion that can enhance constructivist learning.

First, let's define blogs, wikis, and podcasts. Blog is short for weblog. A blog is an online journal displayed on the World Wide Web. A person who wants to set up a blog can go to a website such as Blogger and set up a blog in a couple of minutes. After setting up the blog, the blogger simply types his or her posting in a simple text editor that functions as a simple word processor. When the blogger finishes a posting and publishes it, the blogging software formats and displays it in a web page.

A wiki is a website published as a collaborative by a group of people who share a common interest. It allows information to be organized for easy access, either in a database or in files. Please see my posting on wikis if you would like to learn more about them.

A podcast is an audio or video file broadcast on the Web and received on the user's computer or some sort of mobile device such as an iPod or other MP3 player or cell phone. Audio is recorded in MP3 format. The next article will discuss how blogs or wikis or podcasts can enhance constructivist learning.

Here are some resources where you can learn more about constructivism, blogs, wikis, and podcasts:

Constructivism

- Wikipedia article

- Piaget, Jean. (1950). The Psychology of Intelligence. New York: Routledge.

Blogs and Blogging

- Blogger Website

- Wikipedia article

- LiveJournal

- Edublogs

Wikis

- Wikipedia - The best-known and largest wiki

See my posting on wikis for more references

Podcasts and Podcasting

- Wikipedia article on podcasting

- Wikipedia article on RSS

- Odeo

- Podomatic