Knowing that human judgment can be fallible, we propose to distinguish the subjective ascription of a property, such as autonomy, from the genuine fact that an entity is characterised by a certain property, i.e., it is autonomous. In this paper, we take a closer look at this distinction and what it is grounded on, taking a constructivist stance that sees the scientist as an observing subject. W...

Learning technologies offer new opportunities to meet the rapidly growing demand for new, constructivist ways of learning (such as competency-based, collaborative or adaptive learning). They have the potential to act as catalysts for more effective exchange and reuse of learning objects to enable personalised learning. This article examines the extent to which current learning technology specif...

When facilitating asynchronous discussion forums, should online instructors be encouraged to take a prominent ‘sage on the stage’ role, a more constructivist ‘guide on the side’ role, or an ultra low profile as ‘the ghost in the wings’? There is no shortage of anecdotal advice on how to conduct discussion forums in online education, but there appears to be very little research available so far ...

The way physics and other parts of science work can be explained in the framework of radical constructivism. However, this constructivist view itself shows that a uniquily accepted epistemology, constructivism or any other, would not be an advantage for the development of science. Unlike physics some parts of science successfully use constructivist concepts inside their theories. Because this i...

The Internet opens a new generation of distance education ( fourth generation ), introducing sophisticated delivery tools and creating a paradigm shift with profound implications on the design of distance education courses. In order to accommodate this medium, novel curriculum design and learning models may be appropriate. In this paper, there are several instructional design models presented a...