The Social Construction of Online Communication Systems toward Facilitating Learning among Children with Developmental Delays

Abstract

The shift to online instruction has been challenging for Special Education (SpEd) practitioners given that in-person guidance is essential to the learning of Children with Developmental Delays (CWDDs). School administrators used various online and computer-assisted tools to handle the continuation of classes, one of which is an Online Communication System (OCS). Our study examines how an OCS is used to facilitate learning among CWDDs using Pinch and Bijker’s (1984) Social Construction of Technology. Employing online ethnography as our research method, we used participatory observations in one SpEd class and conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews to generate data for our study. Findings showed that although teachers, parents, and students use an OCS within their terms, they still adhere to how each communication platform is primarily intended to be used. However, they negotiate such common usage when resolving issues that arise in their OCS. We then provided suggestions from a social constructivist perspective to better utilize an OCS for online learning. Lastly, we suggest that future researchers widen the scope of the study in terms of the time frame and involved participants.