The development of a method of cyber learning with conceptual models of knowledge construction

In this knowledge-based society, a person should be possessed of abilities to create new knowledge while selecting, acquiring, and processing knowledge and information in line with his or her own purpose and communicating this new knowledge to other people. With the emergence of the world wide web, cyber learning, in the form of web-based instruction has been brought to the fore. The established way of cyber learning, however, is based on a system where learners should proceed with their study on their own, instead of relying on interaction between teachers and learners. The established way of cyber learning leaves much to be desired in terms of its application to a class, and is often bereft of a system capable of recreating knowledge as a result of study. Accordingly, this study is designed to develop a cyber learning system using models with the concepts of knowledge construction. This system enabled students to cultivate their abilities to analyze materials and to improve their creativity. When applied to the teaching learning process of social studies, the system was capable of being applied to a process from a stage of grasping problems, to a stage of learning completion. The system also enabled teachers and students to produce study results, and enabled students to recreate knowledge, in the form of homepages, from constructed learning resources, instead of producing only fragmental knowledge.