ABSTRACT
Our personal, professional, social and cultural lives have been affected and transformed by the computer networking revolution: email, cellphones, text messaging, Twitter, participating in social networks, blogging and accessing powerful search engines using computers and/or mobile devices are common aspects of everyday life. Moreover, as aspiring or current members of the education profession (teachers, instructors, professors, trainers), the world in which we work and teach has been particularly impacted by networking technologies. The 21st century is referred to as the Knowledge Age, a time in which knowledge has key social and economic value. And today’s youth are described as the Net Generation, raised in the culture of the Internet and viewing the Web as integral to socializing and work. Yet educational practice does not significantly reflect or address this new reality. In such a technology-driven world, it is critical and timely to study the intersection of learning theory and technology. Opportunities for educators to reflect on the implications of how we might shape and apply new communication technologies within our practice have been limited. The field is characterized by training teachers in the use of specific online tools, but a theory-informed approach to transforming our educational practice remains elusive. In our personal lives, we have embraced new technologies for social communication. New technologies are reshaping the way we function within our communities and how we form them. We use email, Twitter, texting; participate in online forums and social networks (such as Facebook, MySpace); search massive databases; access wikis, blogs and user-generated content sites (YouTube, Flickr); or shop online with Amazon. But in our professional lives, despite our interest or need, there has been little opportunity to consider and explore new learning paradigms. Rather than transform pedagogy by using opportunities afforded by new technologies and the changing socio-economic context of the 21st century, a common tendency of educators has been to merely integrate technology into traditional ways of teaching. Examples of traditional didactic approaches to the Web are common and include the use of email, wikis and web portals for:
• transmission of course information and content to students; • communication between student and teacher/tutor; • transmission of lectures (PowerPoint slides, videoconferences, podcasts); • administering quizzes, assessing quizzes and posting grades.
