Online learning: constructivism and conversation as an approach to learning

Traditionally our UK higher education establishments have majored on a lecturer instructing a group of students. The focus has been very much on transferring a body of knowledge to a set of learners using a variety of teaching methods. The target in many establishments has been on the individual learner and their performance. Conversation, when used was a means of clarifying the learning that had been set by the teacher. With the advent of online teaching and learning this mould might be challenged. Can we develop another approach? This article looks at some of the ways in which the design and practices of Talk 2 Learn, an online community, may reflect the thinking of Wenger and Vygotsky. It also begins to explore through the Talk 2 Learn example why it can be a useful addition to the traditional UK higher education models of learning.