The unmoderated content and immediacy of publishing that adds to the value of the Web also serves to indulge a high volume of material inappropriate for children. All uses of the Internet that will be discussed subsume a monitored environment and an enforced acceptable use policy. Constructivism, constructionism and computer use Seymour Papert applies Piaget s work to educational technology. Papert advocates constructionism as an extension of Piaget s constructivism. Constructionism views the learner as the author of knowledge that is external and shared.
Learners help to define and re-construct the setting in a dynamic, ongoing process.
Constructionism is an apt description of the kind of learning the Internet strives to support. A worldwide collection of information exists in a form that is customized by the navigation choices of the individual. S tudents may create letters, web sites, or lines of scrolling text. The participatory, adaptable environment of the Internet is highly suited to personal meaning making and comprehension. The power of the Internet in education lies only partly in the promotion of constructive learning.