DIGITAL LIBRARY
VIRTUAL FORUM AS A LEARNING STRATEGY IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND ITS EFFECTS IN INTERACTION, COOPERATION AND INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING
1 Departamento de Didáctica General y Didácticas Especificas. Universidad de Alicante (SPAIN)
2 Colegio Liceo Hispano. Valencia (SPAIN)
3 SGITT. Proyectos Europeos. Universidad de Alicante (SPAIN)
About this paper:
Appears in: EDULEARN09 Proceedings
Publication year: 2009
Pages: 4379-4390
ISBN: 978-84-612-9801-3
ISSN: 2340-1117
Conference name: 1st International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies
Dates: 6-8 July, 2009
Location: Barcelona ,Spain
Abstract:
The Web 2.0 and the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are becoming powerful tools used in classroom to encourage the students’ learning experience. These resources respect the students’ different learning features as well as they provide the possibility of presenting materials in a wide range of ways and supports.
This review shows an interdisciplinary experience across Language and Physical Education and has been performed using a sample of 80 students from two Primary Schools, 6th grade, in Alicante and Valencia. In order to develop the different contents, an electronic forum serving as a virtual space that supports students’ interaction was set up.
The aim of this paper is to analyze how interdisciplinary learning takes place in connection with the considered working contents and also to examine how virtual environment influences the way that involved students collaborate and interact.
Regarding the research frame, this project follows the virtual ethnographic approach. The principles of CSCL (Computer Support for Collaborative Learning) by Stahl and Koschman (1996), Scardamalia and Bereiter (1994) are taken into consideration. The review, which is based on theoretical and practical contributions by Romaña (2007), De Pedro (2006) and Gros (2004) about learning process by using fora, is carried out using the blended learning system. The data collection instruments combines content analysis, participant observations, interviews and the cognitive assessment method by Bernard (2000).
The results both quantitative and qualitative show a higher participation, an improvement on the learning process with respect to quantity and quality, an increase in reflection on the learning process, more collaboration and a gradual increase of the appropriate use of written language.

Keywords:
blended learning, web 2, 0, educative electronic forum, interdisciplinary learning.