Communication and Interaction in a Blog-Based Learning Space
Michelle Harrison, Thompson Rivers University, Canada
Abstract
This study is an exploratory case that follows one course offering in an attempt to trace the way the space either constrains or enhances communication and participation in an open, online course offered using a variety of social networking tools. As social technologies are designed with an “architecture of participation" how the learners use the spaces afforded to them, to both communicate with each other and engage with the learning content were examined. Content and structural analysis were conducted of blog posts and comments using a modified coding scheme based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model to look for patterns of participation and cultural production. In this case, participation patterns demonstrated that individual engagement with course content and activities was favored over collaborative engagement with fellow learners. Though the course learners were willing to participate and share in developing a learning culture that was supportive, engaged, and open, in the end the demands of formal academic writing, the performative elements of the “post”, and the barriers imposed by the virtual space may have hampered their ability to sustain active levels and patterns of participation and engaged discourse.
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