3. SOME PEDAGOGICAL NOTIONS FOR LEARNING WEB LITERACY

3.4. THE PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF THE LEARNING SPACE NETRO

Netro can be regarded as a learning space, yet, we also refer to it as a vehicle, for the name and the metaphor comes from travelling on a path from one place to another. The choice of the learning space to be situated on the web is natural because the topic is web literacy. Netro is a multimodal learning space, in which many of the web literacy related issues are presented. The technology, however, contributes more to the learning space than just an easy access to the subject matter. Having introduced the theoretical premises for learning as meaning making, the form of social practice that we want to support is accessible through technology. A web-based Netro has the strength of making ideas and thoughts public, which is a prerequisite for any collaboration to take place. Thus, as a vehicle Netro is a public one.

The goals of Netro as a learning space focus on the aspects of web literacy as we define it in chapter 2. In the light of the theoretical framework introduced in chapter 3.3.1, Netro can be seen as facilitating a collaborative knowledge building community. The Netro passengers form a community in which they function and contribute to the organisational goal of creating new knowledge on web literacy. Through the discussion forums and other publishing tasks the passengers contribute to the effort and bring into public what they perceive as important aspects of web literacy. Their reflections and discussions are open and in the ideal process they will build on each other. Through this collaborative knowledge building the concept of web literacy will develop, yet, simultaneously individual learning will take place.

By individual learning we refer to the cognitive side of learning. Netro learning space is built not only to support collaboration but also to support the cognitive processes introduced in chapter 3.2.2. Netro attempts to direct the passengers' attention, to make them notice aspects of the medium and guides them to reflect what it is that they notice. Netro builds on awareness raising activities (Wenden 1998:531). These are "elicitation of learner's metacognitive knowledge and beliefs, articulation of what has come to awareness, confrontation with alternative views, and reflection on the appropriateness of revising, expanding one's knowledge". The aim of these activities is that the passengers become more aware of the characteristics of the medium as well as of themselves as users of the medium. As the tasks and their reflections are all open and accessible for all passengers, this cognitive side of Netro can be seen as embedded in the social practices of the learning space.

We refer to the Netro learners as passengers to place an emphasis on the fact that in Netro meaningful social practice results in learning, and that we regard them as participants or members of a knowledge building community. These passengers are seen as contributing to the shared goal of building knowledge on web literacy as individuals with own fields of expertise, own autobiographical backgrounds and experiences. They are all new-comers in the beginning, but Netro supports the process of socialisation. Thus, Netro facilitates both collaborative knowledge building as well as individual learning.

The community, the Netro group, consists of passengers and of Tuomas (Figure 11), a virtual guide who guides the passengers in the learning space by asking them questions and commenting on the phase of the process. Tuomas's role is not only in giving instructions, but he is important in creating a more personal atmosphere on the learning space. Tuomas's use of language aims at making reflections less formal and academic, which will hopefully result in more open and active participation. Tuomas also illustrates the pedagogical approach of collaborative learning, for Tuomas himself is not an expert and can be seen to learn about the concept of web literacy alongside with the passengers. It is up to the teacher whether s/he wants to take part in the discussion by enhancing the knowledge building process or by merely focusing on the practical issues of moderating the course of the process. A teacher, however, does not instruct the passengers for that is Tuomas's role. Thus, the teacher or possible teachers are also members of the community, passengers, who might be regarded as full-timers once they have travelled through the learning space few times and their own conceptions on the social practices and the product of the concept of web literacy have developed.

Figure 11. Tuomas