I’m still puzzling over the big issue for Internet community research ethics. Is what we see online a virtual identity,which should be treated according to the ethical standards of human subject research, or is it published text, in which case the relevant ethical standards relate to copyright and acknowledgement? Quentin Jones article on cyber settlements […]
* Which are the main subject positions to be found within a learning community which comes together in an aynchronous online environment? * How are these subject positions introduced or created? * Which of these subject positions work to support learning, and which discourage learning? * How can the asynchronous environment be designed in order […]
These are the main positions that Rasmussen identifies in her observations. They mainly refer to the 2 teachers and 5 pupils. She wasn’t focusing on positioning and identity, so this is presumably only a few of the more obvious positions. I can see that some of them would actively support learning, while others would act […]
Social loafing seems to me to be definitely a position you can take within an online learning environment. However, as it’s not a term in common use, you couldn’t really have it as your identity. Even if it were in common use, would you identify yourself as a social loafer? Probably not. So here’s an […]
Won’t say too much about this, as I’ve recalled Holland’s book to the library and I guess I’ll get round to reading it one day. ‘”Perhaps an AA member can/will tell the story of her life as an alcoholic only sith support of other AA members. The story lies within her zone of proximal development, […]
‘According to the sociocultural perspective, human learning cannot be fully undestood without understanding human activity. In studying learning, therefore, one should focus on how tools, mental and material, are used in human activity and how humans construct knowledge and understanding by the use of tools. Moreover, the physical and social environments are considered integral to […]
Been reading Ingvill’s doctoral thesis: ‘Project work and ICT: studying learning as participation trajectories’ I’m thinking at the moment about my PhD as an exploration of how people construct their identities in online learning communities. Which identities help them to learn and which identities get in the way of learning? How can course designers and […]
Haythornthwaite, C., Kazmer, M. M., Robins, J. and Shoemaker, S. (2000) Community development among distance learners: temporal and technological dimensions JCMC, 6 (1) Student quotes include this: “I’ll have to tell you that it has been one of the most stressful times in my whole life… I started to have a lot of anxiety…. Just […]
Back in 1994, Mike Godwin drew up these principles for making virtual communities work: * use software that promotes good discussion * Don’t impose a length limitation on postings * Front-load your system with talkative, diverse people * Let the users resolve their own disputes * Provide institutional memory * Promote continuity * Be host […]
Burnett says: ‘ part of the “different flavour” of a given community can be seen in the particular norms and pattern of acceptable behaviours within the community. That is, each community emphasises its own particular patterns of interaction, and sets its own norms and expectations.’ That’s fairly obvious, I guess, but it fits in with […]