14015 From Search for Information to Construction of Knowledge in Technology-Rich Environments

Credits: 4 graduate credits in Education: Technologies and Learning Systems or in Educational Administration, Policy and Leadership

Prerequisites: At least two basic courses in Education: Technologies and Learning Systems; at least two required courses in Educational Administration, Policy and Leadership

Recommended: Theories of Learning and Instruction and Technology and Learning

The course is based on a reader edited by Rikki Rimor and Yoram Eshet.

The course critically examines the difference between information in a computerized system and knowledge that stems from human thinking, as well as differences between information and knowledge, and searching for information vs. constructing knowledge. Also discussed are the processes that the learner needs to construct various kinds of knowledge in a technology-rich environment.

Objectives: To distinguish between information and knowledge, and between searching for information vs. constructing knowledge; To acquaint students with different kinds of knowledge involved in the learning process within an information technology environment; To examine the relationship between the use of information technology and constructing different kinds of knowledge; To discover what cognitive skills and metacognitive insights the learner acquires when functioning in a technology-rich information environment.

Topics: Theoretical background – philosophical, psychological and technological aspects of the concept of knowledge; Constructivism – the conception of learning that emphasizes knowledge construction; Knowledge construction in technology-rich environments – structural knowledge, declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, metacognitive knowledge.