Introduction
At a recent educational-research conference, researchers were debating various approaches for using computer
networks in education. One group of researchers talked excitedly about new ways of delivering instruction to
students. They explained how lectures by expert scientists could be beamed down to thousands of schools. They
imagined the day when personal workstations will present problems to students, monitor student progress on the
problems, and automatically download video segments from network servers at appropriate times during the
instruction.
A second group of researchers presented a different vision for computer networks in education. They dismissed
the idea of delivering information to students across the network. They wanted to turn the tables, putting
students in control of the information. They talked about new tools that allow students to search through
thousands of servers on the network, locating information that they are interested in.
These two approaches are very different fiom one another. In one case, information is delivered to students
according to some instruction plan; in the other case, students search for the information they need, when they
need it. But the two approaches share a common feature: they both focus on infonnation. Indeed, amidst all the
talk about the "information superhighway" and "infonnation society," the idea of information is often at the
center of discussions about computer networks in education.
This paper describes a third vision of computer networks, strikingly different from the first two. This vision puts
construction (not information) at the center of the analysis. It views computer networks not as a channel for
information distribution, but primarily as a new medium for construction, providing new ways for students to
learn through construction activities by embedding the activities within a community.
The paper introduces a theoretical underpinning for this approach, known as distributed constructionism, then
describes a set of research projects at the MIT Media Laboratory designed to explore the educational
possibilities for using computer networks in support of construction activities. The paper does not go into great
depth on any one project or activity; rather, it aims to provide a framework for thinking about collaborative
construction activities and the role of computer networks in supporting those activities. It highlights several new
network-based environments that our research group is developing to enable pre-college students to collaborate
on the construction of dynamic artifacts (such as animations and simulations).