Learning Bridges: Toward Participatory Learning Environments

Bridges connect islands to each other. Bridges are also an apt metaphor for building connections among different learning environments and the learners and experts in them . Bridges are then viewed as operational models and cultural resources . What might the bridges of learning be like? What materials would they be made of and what shapes would they take? Building bridges that promote learning requires a profound understanding of interaction, collaboration, meaningful learning, and support for such learning in different environments .

What is of particular importance for the planning and building of learning bridges is pedagogical and psychological know-how on how individuals and communities learn and develop at different phases of their life and in different environments . Today, developments in information and com - munication technology also bring about new dimensions to interaction, collabo - ration, and learning . Making good use of them, though, requires a pedagogical understanding of the possibilities offered by the new technologies .