Scanned Document


Research Note 

A Four-Step Process for the Development 
of Knowledge-Building Communities 

in a Digital Intranet 

KEN STEVENS 
F ACUL TY OF EDUCATION, MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND 

ST. JOHNS, NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA 

In very small schools, most of which are 
located in rUIal communities, it is often 
difficult to justify the appointment of 
spedalist teachers for small numbers of 
students. Senior students in the smallest 
and most remo te communities often have 
difficulty accessing spedalist teachers in 
subjects such as mathematics, sdence, 
foreign languages and art. When 
young rural people are denied access 
to advanced classes in sdence and 
mathematics in their local schools, 
subjects that are required for entry 
to engineering, medicine and other 
professional faculties in post-secondary 
institutions, many career options 
are closed. Accordingly, many senior 
students in rural schools have been 
encoUIaged to complete their secondary 
education in larger schools, most of 
which are located in UIban areas . 

In the Canadian province of 
Newfoundland and Labrador, where 
two thirds of schools are officially 
classified as rural, the search for 
alternative approacl1es to the provision 
of educational and, indirectly, career 
opportunities for senior students has 
been a priority (Stevens, 1999). 

A four-step process has been piloted to 
enhance rural educational opportunities 
for senior students, using information 
and communication teclmologies, in 
one of the ten school districts 
of Newfoundland and Labrador. 
Within the new educational structure 
that has been created it has been 
necessary to reconsider teaching and 
learning processes: 

• A new electronic educational 
structure known as a "Digital 
Intranet" has been established; 

• Within the Digital Intranet, virtual 
classes in Biology, Chemistry, 
Mathematics and Physics have 
been organized; 

• Within the virtual classes in each 
of the four disdplines, the 
organization of "knowledge-building 
communities" has been encoUIaged; 

• Within each knowledge-building 
community, pedagogy appropriate 
to virtual teaching and learning 
environments is being developed. 

THE CREATION OF A 
DIGITAL INTRANET A Digital 
Intranet is an electronic educational 
structure based on web-links between 

Journal of Distance Learning, Vol 6, No 1, 2001 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 

45 



teachers and learners at designated 
sites, in selected areas of the curriculum. 
A Digital Intranet enables schools to 
interface both administratively and 
academically and within this web-based 
structure, participating sites must 
coordinate their timetables. 

Minimum specifications were adopted 
for computer hardware and network 
connectivity. All schools involved in the 
project had satellite dishes installed. 
Software had to be identified and 
evaluated. Software was required for 
both the development of the resources, 
and the delivery of instruction. Front 
Page 98 was selected as the software 
package. Additional software was used 
for development of images and animated 
gifs, including Snagit32, Gif Construction 
Set, Real Video, and similar packages. 

Many course management software 
packages were evaluated and finally 
WebCT was selected. This package 
enabled the instructor to track student 
progress, it contained online testing and 
evaluation, private email, a calendar 
feature, public bulletin board for use by 
both instructor and student, a link to 
lessons, chat rooms for communication 
between teacher and student, and more. 

For real time instruction Meeting Point 
and Microsoft NetMeeting were selected. 
This combination of software enabled a 
teacher to present real-time interactive 
instruction to multiple sites. 

The Digital Intranet emolled its first 
students in the 1998-1999 school year and 
in the 2000 school year this new 
educational structure was extended to 
serve selected sites in several other 
school districts in the province. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF 
VIRTUAL CLASSES The 
construction of a Digital Intranet to link 
eight rural sites in dispersed 
communities in one school district of 
Newfoundland and Labrador with the 
Centre for TeleLearning and Rural 
Education at Memorial University 
of Newfoundland has opened new 
educational opportunities for senior 
students in rural communities. Students 
are able to connect with teachers both 
synchronously and asynchronously from 
their local schools and, if they have 
Internet access, from their homes. Within 
the Digital Intranet virtual classes have 
been organized for senior students in 
Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and 
PhysicS. By linking sites from dispersed 
communities to share resources within 
the Digital Intranet, students are able 
to participate in virtual classes. This 
contrasts with the traditional practice of 
taking senior students out of rural 
communities to complete their schooling 
in larger urban institutions. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF 
KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING 
COMMUNITIES The collaborative 
educational structure of the Digital 
hltranet and, within this, the 
construction of virtual classes, has led to 
the emergence of new ways of 
learning and teaching (Stevens, Power, 
Boone, & Barry, 1999). Instruction 
includes both synclrronous and 
asynchronous components. Synclrronous 
instruction is accomplished through 
the use of Microsoft Netmeeting and 
MeetingPoint. This combination of 
software allows students in multiple, 
rural schools to communicate in real time 
with each other and with their 
instructor. Students and instructor are 

Journal of Distance Learning, Vol 6, No 1, 2001 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 

46 



able to share applications, make use of 
whiteboard, chat, video and voice 
communication. At present, technical 
limitations restrict the use of this 
combination of software to the morning 
sessions of the school day. 

Asynchronous delivery of instructional 
resources makes use of two software 
packages, WebCT and Knowledge 
Forum. WebCT provides student 
access to all asynchronous course 
resources including: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Lessons: Complete course 
outline, lesson notes, homework, 
assignments, and labs (Physics, 
Chemistry and Biology). 
Bulletin Board: Enables public 
communication between students 
and instructor. 
Private E-mail: 
to communicate 
their " virtual 
their instructor. 

Allows students 
privately with 

classmates" and 

Calendar: Outlines daily activities, 
labs, lessons, assignment due dates, 
and general reminders. 
Tests (Quizzes): Provides for student 
self-evaluation. Evaluation items 
may include matching, multiple 
choice, short answer, and essay 
type questions that may include 
supporting graphics. 
Presentations: Used for creation of 
individual student web pages. 
My Record: Allows students private 
access to their evaluation records. 
Knowledge Forum: Knowledge 
Forum is a separate software 
package. The icon has been placed 
on the WebCT Welcome Page to 
facilitate student access. 

During the pilot year (1998-1999), many 
of the students used their asynchronous 
class time to complete homework for 

other courses . However, from the 
beginning of the new school year in 
September 1999, Knowledge Forum has 
proved to be a particularly useful 
addition to the resources used in the 
knowledge-building process as well as 
the development of virtual classes. 
Knowledge Forum enables students and 
their instructor, located in separate 
schools, at different times, to take part 
in virtual classroom discussions. For 
students in an unsupervised class, using 
Knowledge Forum has prOvided an 
important advantage in allowing the 
instructor to monitor, and more 
importantly, be a part of tl1e activities of 
students who are neither phYSically 
present in the same building, nor 
present at the same time. Since the 
implementation of Knowledge Forum 
both student management and 
knowledge building have improved. 

PEDAGOGY ApPROPRIATE 
TO TELELEARNING In the 
development of a new educational 
structure (the Digital Intranet) and 
process (virtual classes), new ways of 
organizing teaching and learning are 
taking shape. The difference in the 
pedagogy of traditional (face to face) 
and telelearning classes is to be found 
not in the structures, processes or 
technolOgies that are used, but in the 
pedagogy that mediates teaching and 
learning. The pedagogy of telelearning 
in this pilot study is shaped by 
synchronous and asynchronous 
learning environments . By introdUcing 
Knowledge Forum, knowledge can 
be developed symmetrically or 
asymmetrically. Symmetric knowledge 
advances occur when students' activities 
are organized in such a way that tl1ey 
can learn from one ano ther. Asymmetric 
knowledge advances occur when each 
student is expected to learn the same 

Journal of Distance Lea rn ing, Vol 6, No 1, 2001 © Distance Education Association of Ne w Zealand 

47 



things from the teacher, which are 
specified in advance. In asymmetrical 
knowledge advancement the flow of 
information is in one direction: the 
teacher does not necessarily learn 
from the students and students do 
not necessarily learn from one another 
except insofar as they cooperate to 
help one another achieve what is 
prescribed to be learnt. 

Four types of knowledge advancement 
are being developed in virtual science 
classes, structured by the Digital Intranet: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Type 1: Symmetric Knowledge 
Building in a Synchronous 
Learning Environment (students 
primarily learning from other 
students Simultaneously). 
Type 2: Symmetric Knowledge 
Building in an Asynchronous 
Learning Environment (students 
primarily learning from other 
students in delayed time). 
Type 3: Asymmetric Knowledge 
Building in a Synchronous Learning 
Environment (students primarily 
taking instruction from the 
teacher, Simultaneously). 
Type 4: Asymmetric Knowledge 
Building in an Asynchronous 
Learning Environment (students 
primarily taking instruction from the 
teacher in delayed time). 

The search for appropriate pedagogy 
for telelearning aims to develop a 
seamless on-line relationship between 
teacher and student as well as between 
students themselves, within which 
knowledge can be constructed. 

The TeleLearning and Rural Education 
Centre at Memorial UniverSity of 
Newfoundland is linked to several 
other Canadian Universities through the 

TeleLearning Network of Centres of 
Excellence (TL· NCE), an organization 
that seeks to prepare young people for 
living in a digital world (Information 
Highway Advisory Council, 1997). A 
vital,> part of this process is the search 
for effective applications of information 
and communication technologies for 
teaching and learning in the K-12 system. 

REFERENCES 

INFORMATION HIGHW A Y ADVISORY 
COUNCIL. (1997). Preparing Canada far a 
digital warld. Ottawa: Industry Canada. 

STEVENS, K. (1999). A new model for 
teaching in rural communities-
the electronic organization of classes 
as intranets. Prism - Journal of The 
Newfoundland and Labradar Teachers' 
Association, 6(1), 23-26. Retrieved from 
the World Wide Web: http:// 
www.tellearn.mun.ca/ pubs I index.htrnl. 

STEVENS, K., POWER, D., BOONE, W., & 
BARRY, M. (1999). Vista School District 
digital intranet-the delivery of 
Advanced Placement courses to young 
adult learners in rural communities. 
Knowledge Society Network Newsletter. 
Retrieved from the World Wide Web: 
http:j I www.tellearn.mun.ca/pubs/ 
index.htrnl. 

Ken Stevens is Professor of Education, 
Industry Canada Chair of TeleLearning and 
Rural Education, Memorial University of 
Newfoundland, St. Johns, Newfoundland, 
Canada, AlC 5S7. Email: stevensk@morgan. 
ucs.mun.ca. His previous appointments were 
at Victoria University of Wellington and 
James Cook University. He lives in Canada and 
New Zea land. 

Journal of Distance Learning, Vol 6, No 1, 2001 © Distance Education Association of New Zealand 

48