Chapter 12 - The Mental Web: Pedagogical and Cognitive Implications of the Net

Abstract

This chapter briefly considers some of the potential pedagogical implications of differences between the web and both traditional classroom and text learning contexts. The most obvious contrast between virtual media and traditional forms of education is the basic difference in physicality. In traditional classroom settings, the teacher and students are physically copresent, and texts are written in permanent form on pieces of paper. In contrast, in virtual educational settings, discussion and information emerge from pixels on a computer screen. The physical context stays constant, a student interacts with a single computer and screen and keyboard, but the information that can be accessed is practically infinite.