The term "social" simply means the interaction of people (or organisms in general), while a "social environment" is the interaction of people with culture taken into consideration; therefore based on those definitions an online class would be a considered a social environment. When learning is taken into consideration we can take about social constructivism which "emphasizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding" (
Kim, 2001). Then, there is constructivism which "is a psychological and philosophical perspective contending that individuals form or construct much of what they learn and understand" (Ormond, Schunk, & Gredler p. 182). With all that said, and my explanations to follow I would say, yes, an online class can be social and construct knowledge if done so correctly.
Learning by constructivism requires a certain amount of prior knowledge and the willingness learn from others by actively participating, among other things. With that said, I think that a graduate or upper level undergraduate course can benefit more from online classroom (from a constructivist standpoint) more than say a basic or intermediate course. Each of us is able to bring to the course some ideals that are similar and others that are different from our prior knowledge of work and school, which make for good discussion. Throughout the readings I found that in order to learn constructively it requires a combination of fact and opinion. "...each of us has a uniquely constructed version of reality that we carry around with us in our day-to-day experience as human beings. Two people looking at something together never actually see the same thing in the same way" (Kim, 2001). So my answer to this week's discussion will probably not be just like someone else's, because we do not see it the same way.
For this degree program, I believe that the online environment is quite suitable. If this were a traditional class there may be more opportunity for spontaneous discussion, but I do not feel that takes anything away from the discussions that we have. However, I do not think online would be a suitable environment for a science class. I stated earlier that it takes certain criteria for this form of classroom to be successful. Prior knowledge is a large part of what allows this setting to be successful, because everyone should be on a similar playing field. An online setting is not the place for a teacher to start off doing most of the work and gradually turn it over to the student; instead it needs to be a collaborative effort. If it were a traditional classroom there may be more opportunity for someone to get help in order to get brought up to speed, but for an online course it is important to able to work in the ZPD and still be challenged.
When I teach I tend to use two of Vgotsky's ideas, scaffolding and reciprocal teaching. When I taught high school and now at the GED level, I use scaffolding to help my students. I teach math (and science) and feel this is a good way to make sure the students are getting the material on a step-by-step basis. I always tell my students, math more than any other subject requires you to master one concept before moving on to the next. I also like to use reciprocal teaching in combination with self-talk to walk students through mathematical steps, so that when they do it on their own they can walk through the same steps. Now these forms of the constructivist theory work well in a tradition classroom, but I do not feel that they would translate well into an online classroom because the student needs guidance to get the high-end of their ZPD.
Kim, B. (2001). Social Constructivism.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved <Jan. 26, 2010>, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson.
Ormond, J. Video Program: Theory of Social Cognitive Development
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