Networked Learning Environments and their Communities of Use
Networked learning environments can include on-line provision of:
- Course information—programme outlines, timetables, study guides, exam regulations, notice boards...
- Course resources—learning content, learning tasks, assessment support, databases, library information, subject gateways, links to external sites...
- Communication resources—email lists, bulletin boards, conferencing systems, whiteboards.
Communities of use could involve learners, teachers and support staff at higher or further education institutions and academic, vocational, or personal interest courses; nursery, primary or secondary schools; workplace learning within corporate or commercial settings... or a combination of several of these!
- For 'traditional' face-to face classes, to complement course materials and activities, to provide alternative resources;
- For distributed learning groups, where students are seldom in the same place at the same time providing common ground that is accessible and shareable out of hours;
- For fully distance learners, where the networked environment is their real and only learning community space.
A major focus for us was pedagogy—good educational practice, teacher development and learner support within and through networked learning. Some projects were:
- Characterising on-line learning communities—taking theoretical frameworks from psychology, sociology, education and communication research to the study of on-line learning communities, developing and testing tools for representation and analysis;
- Reviewing research literature and practice literature, developing models for 'communities of practice';
- Working with appropriate agencies to identify critical issues of accessibility to inform technological and pedagogical development;
- Reviewing and developing models of information literacy for learning;
- Mapping on-line content resources to qualifications frameworks.
