Knowledge Building Environments: Extending the Limits of the Possible in Education and Knowledge Work

There are dozens of software systems classified as knowledge building environments. ‘Knowledge building environment’ has an attractive 21 Century, knowledge society ring to it, but how is a knowledge building environment different from a learning environment and what makes it an environment rather than a tool? This article addresses these questions, providing answers that suggest that a fully-realized knowledge building environment is substantially different from a learning environment, incorporating different forms of support to accomplish a different level of process, and playing a role in a different kind of education or workplace culture.