Using social web tools for knowledge construction

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 modelled on Gunawardena et al.'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.