This, in a nutshell, is how an educator would approach the use of application software from a constructivist's approach. Granted, a lot of software in the application stream can also be used from a directed instruction approach, but I would agree with Jonassen and Reeves that a directed instruction approach can result in students "failing to perceive the relevance and value of such programs within...their own lives."Take for example the use of video editing software. There is no doubt that some direct instruct is most likely required for students to become familiar with how the software works before they might engage in a constructivist activity. However, I am always amazed with how quickly most students are able to figure out how an application software operates.
Just the other day I had grade 10 students in a writing class editing a how-to video they were creating. They were using iMovie, and I spent maybe a total of five minutes describing where their footage was, and how they can select it to create their video frame by frame. I returned about twenty minutes later figuring they probably had finished placing their footage and were ready to move on to another step. They had already added in titles, music and were considering whose voice would grace the voice-overs. In other words, they were almost done, and the only directed instruction they received from me was a total of five minutes.
One might argue that the technical abilities of these students must have been quite high, considering that, as far as I know, none of them had previously worked with iMovie. But I would suggest that this ability is quite common among most students. Additionally, today's application software is designed with the user in mind. I do get students who request guidance, and then directed instruction is necessary. But many times as I am instructing them, I realize that many of them already had a hunch on how to do it, but were either afraid to move on without my approval or just lacked the confidence in their instincts. This realization becomes abundantly clear when I "blank out" and forget how something operates, and they then offer a suggestion which is usually correct.
Using iMovie to allow students to transform their written work into video provides for them a learning experience where they see the "relevance and value" of video editing software. It also allows them to apply and further develop skills they already possess while learning new ones. Numerous times the same students will return to borrow camera equipment and a computer so they can create a video for another course.
Just over a year ago I started introducing Google Drive to my students so they could peer edit their written work online. Using Google Docs, the students were able to share their written work and even watch as the shared user went in and made comments and suggestions on how they could edit their work. Additionally, it was not long after I decided to suggest they try using Google Presentation when they were putting together group assignments that they would be presenting to the class. Google Presentation works quite similar to Microsoft Powerpoint, so directed instruction was usually unnecessary since most of these students had used Powerpoint before. There was the initial use of directed instruction in showing students some of the features of Google Drive, and that it offered the ability to create word documents, charts, spreadsheets, forms, surveys, presentations, etc. Moreover, directed instruction was necessary to show students how to share their work with other students. But while some directed instruction is required, the use of Google Drive can take a very strong constructivist approach. Jonassen and Reeves discuss some of the research on reflective thinking which technology and software support when "they enable users to compose new knowledge by adding new representations, modifying old ones, and comparing the two." They state that reflective thinking "often requires external support, including books, computers, or other people." Google Drive, and its online collaborative features, offers many opportunities for reflective thinking when students work together on assignments and help edit and revise each others work.
There are times when directed instruction does play a more dominant role in the use of application software. When my writing class focuses on grammar lessons or reviewing sentence structure, the directed instruction approach is used as they edit their work in Google Docs. I can also see directed instruction playing a role when using video editing software if students were given the task to create a video for other students where they were asked to teach them a concept. Even the how-to videos that my writing class currently completed can be viewed as a type of directed instruction product, even though the activity itself is constructivist in nature.
Buzzle.com defines application software as "software designed for specific purposes, or meant for specific applications." Yet, educators are challenged to extend these purposes in their classrooms so students can interact with the software in ways that allow them to be learners who, as Jonassen and Reeves state, can "organize, restructure, and represent what they know."
As the development of online applications within the framework of Web 2.0 continues, educators have an abundance of application software that is enhanced with powerful features, such as online collaboration. This application software fits perfectly in Jonassen and Reeve's description of software that is "readily available," "affordable," and "applicable across different subject domains." Further, within a constructivist framework, application software can engage critical thinking and give students the opportunities to participate in meaninful and authentic learning.
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