“Swords into Words”
Using Constructivist Principles in Technology-Mediated Learning for Civic Engagement
Presentation at the 2005 American Political Science Association (APSA)
Teaching and Learning Conference, Washington, DC, 19-21 February 2005
http://209.235.207.197/imgtest/TrackSchedulesTLC2005.pdf
@ 2005 Colette Mazzucelli
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Institute of Political Studies Paris, New York University, Center for Global Affairs, Seton
Hall University, John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations
Draft work in progress. Please do not cite without permission from the author. Thank you.
“The illiterate of the 21
st
century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who
cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
Alvin Toffler quoted in e-Learning
Introduction
This paper’s analysis of constructivist principles in technology-mediated learning relies
on experience in the development of the Transatlantic Internet/Multimedia Seminar Southeastern
Europe (TIMSSE) series, 1999-2003.
The TIMSSE case study is one that allows us to analyse
critically the impact of education that utilizes communications technologies to establish a
transcontinental learning community. The content focus in TIMSSE speaks to a range of topics in
the field of conflict prevention. Figure 1 in the Appendix presents the topics in the 2002 series.
Our goal in the TIMSSE series was to assess the impact of a unique pedagogical
experience on diverse groups of students. Significantly, their previous education exposed these
students to traditional class instruction that evidenced an academic-practitioner gap. The TIMSSE
experience in the cyber classroom led us to assess the ways in which constructivist principles are
influential in a technology-mediated learning environment. By far, our most essential aim is
ethical in nature: to lay the foundation for a culture of prevention that promotes civic
engagement.
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Convention