Conclusion


 * Conclusion**

There is no doubt that modern education and technology endorse the views of social and cognitive constructivism. Both proposals highlighted how interactions with the teacher and other students can be magnified with the proper use of technology and a constructivist’s mindset (Powell and Kalina, 2006).

The Ancient Egypt webquest allows students to act as the scientist, researcher, reporter and writer and create work that is meaningful and shared. This process puts the student in charge of their own learning and allows them to interact with the information in a fashion that actively puts them in charge of what they learn, how they learn and construct knowledge based on the activities that is meaningful to them. For example, to read about it in a book, or listen to a teacher talk about it is passive and does not allow for higher levels of thinking. Contrarily, to actively take part in the learning process to research and share information with others and to produce a produce is not only exciting but it also allows for students to construct the knowledge in a manner that trumps the more lectured driven approach.

The second proposal allows for total student collaboration and innovation. The students take one the roles of a reporter, photographer, researcher, editor and producer. Each one of these titles are extremely constructivist in their applications. Students are interacting, they are creating, re-creating, sharing and reflecting. The teacher’s role is more of a cheerleader than ringleader. This gives the students to opportunity to not only work on something that is relevant to them, but more importantly, construct knowledge, tying prior skills and making meaningful connections about their learning.

Social and cognitive constructivism encourages discovery and interactions (Sudzina, 1997). Modern technology is a great channel to support this theory of learning. Everything about the technology we use on a daily basis keeps us socially connected and up to date. We can find information instantly if we need an answer, we can participate and interact with people, groups or classes synchronously. If this is how students live their lives outside of school, then educators must harness this power and tap into its educational implications.