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by Paul Gorski, 1996

Introduction

The World Wide Web's worth in education is not based only on the wealth of information it disseminates. The same wealth of information can be found in traditional educational media. Rather, the Web transcends the traditional practices of connecting people with information to connect people with other people. The Web can facilitate an atmosphere in which voices, stories, reflections and interactions reach beyond those available in the classroom, school, or community. For example, a student can find a Native American's commentary on General Custer on the Web or in a book, but the Web allows the student and Native American to communicate, share, and interact with each other.

The Web facilitates each of the strands essential to multicultural reconstructionist education discussed above (critical pedagogy, interaction, and inclusion) through various interactive and hyper-navigable technologies. Web designers employ critical pedagogy through technologies such as "WWWBoard" which allow students to read and reflect on a passage or story on line, and to read and reflect on other students' reflections (see Figure 1). While students were previously capable of doing this within their classroom, web designers facilitate an experience in which students can share with other people--other cultures--from around the world.

Figure 1. This is an example of a discussion board from the Multicultural Pavilion Webpage.

Web designers address the interaction strand of multicultural education by offering interactive forums and by making themselves available for interaction. Forums include "chat rooms" in which people can interact in real time (see Figure 2) and discussion boards on which people can post a question, comment, or response and through which others can read those posts and respond. Web designers can also provide links to their e-mail addresses or "Guestbook" forums to allow visitors to communicate with them directly.

Figure 2. This is an example of a chat room hosted by Yahoo!.

The Web facilitates inclusion through interactive technologies as well as hyper-navigation. Most websites include a list of links to other sites of similar interest (see Figure 3). These links allow the user to move (or hyper-navigate) from one site to another--possibly from one continent to another--with a click of the mouse. The designer of a website about Custer might offer a link to a Native-American's site on Custer. While a book might contain a list of sources or a citation to link readers to another source, the Web can offer the resource, and a direct line to it, at the click of a button.

Figure 3. A list of links to other sites from the Multicultural Pavilion's Multicultural Paths.

Unfortunately, what the Web can facilitate and what designers can offer is not reflected in the majority of educational websites currently online. Most educational websites facilitate little interaction above an e-mail link to the designer. Content is usually presented in a fashion that does not give students the opportunity to reflect, interact, or challenge the information. Designers usually offer links to sites with similar perspectives instead of those with different perspectives. Even sites that purport to be "multicultural" often offer a very uni-cultural selection of links. The multicultural potential of the World Wide Web remains unrealized and unemployed by educators and education website designers.

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