Autoethnography as an authentic learning activity in online doctoral education:An integrated approach to authentic learning

Under the constructivist learning paradigm, which emphasises authenticity as a required condition for learning, distance educators have been striving to create authentic learning environments that reflect the real world. However, it is inevitably challenging to make an online learning environment authentic for learners when it is ultimately separated from their real-life contexts. Particularly, in online doctoral education, given the diversity among online learners, even defining “what is real and to whom” is a difficult task. This paper argues that the epistemological approach to authentic learning, based on the constructivist learning paradigm, is not sufficient to make online learning “authentically” meaningful. The paper introduces an alternative, ontological approach stemming from the transformative learning paradigm, and suggests autoethnography as one authentic learning activity that can effectively integrate the epistemological and ontological approaches to authentic learning in online doctoral education. Such a comprehensive conceptualisation of authentic learning, as an integrated process of both knowing and becoming, allows each doctoral student to become a more authentic self across their learning and living environments

Beyond Stereotypes: Exploring international Chinese students’ experiences of interaction with learning contents in higher education within the networked learning environment

The Chinese government provided a narrow window for Chinese students during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, enabling them to remain in China and enrol in online courses provided by foreign universities. This was not authorised before the pandemic (Ministry of Education [MOE], 2020). As a result, there was limited research focusing on Chinese overseas students’ distance learning experiences before the pandemic (e.g., Kung, 2017). Furthermore, these studies have been criticised for their overuse of monolithic approaches and the underuse of theories, producing stereotypes and misunderstandings about Chinese students (Lee & Bligh, 2019; Xu, 2022). Despite the increasing number of studies on Chinese overseas students conducted during the pandemic, their online learning experiences have been significantly influenced by the unique situation, which may not be applicable in a post-pandemic scenario. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to investigate Chinese overseas students' networked learning experiences in the post-pandemic era.  Building on the ongoing conceptualising effort (NLEC, 2021a), the authors have used learner-content interaction (Moore, 1989) and Berry’s acculturation theory (Berry, 2005) to explore online international Chinese students’ experiences of interaction with learning contents. The focus is on developing a holistic and balanced perspective of these students. Twelve students, enrolled in online graduate degree programmes offered by Western universities while residing in China, were recruited and interviewed. The results of the authors’ thematic analysis of the interview transcripts suggest that online Chinese international students are active agents in their interaction with the learning content and their adaptation to the new settings, in which they bridge a strong connection between Chinese and Western learning content to enrich their understanding of knowledge and promote cultural diversity in both their new environment and their home country. Here, online Chinese international students predominately employ an integration strategy to engage in learning content. Similar to international students from other countries, online Chinese international students encounter challenges due to differences in educational backgrounds, including differences in learning materials and extensive reading requirements. However, online Chinese international students proactively cope with these challenges by integrating knowledge and skills from their home country into their studies, facilitating successful adaptation to the new environment. In addition, the student interaction experience is undermined by a loss of diversity in content provided by Western universities. Therefore, the recommendations are for online educators and universities to take into account the cultural backgrounds of their students and design diverse course content

Debating the status of ‘theory’ in technology enhanced learning research: Introduction to the Special Inaugural Issue

This Inaugural Special Issue of Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning has a particular focus on ‘theory’—a contentious matter. Occasionally disparaged as obscure, or alienating, it seems fair to say that theory has never been so deeply embedded in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) research as it has become in many other areas of scholarship. One reason is that TEL is often conceived as a ‘practical’ field, with ‘theory’ negatively counterposed against other priorities: methodological innovation, ‘evidence’, ‘best practice’, or, more recently, imperatives towards being ‘data driven’. Furthermore, the use of theory can often be a stumbling block for many novice researchers: even those inclined towards ambition in their use of theory can struggle in getting to grips with the attendant vocabularies, or when actually using particular theories in their own research. Many may come to wonder whether doing so is really worth the effort. The impetus for the present issue is a contention that ‘theory’ really matters for TEL. That contention is widely shared by members of the Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning , a research centre at Lancaster University, UK, which, while part of the Department of Educational Research, has members drawn from a variety of disciplines. Indeed, the initial idea for the issue grew out of a longstanding sequence of discussions within the Centre—which the two present authors, at the time of writing, jointly direct—which have expressed a desire to emphasise the importance of ‘theory’ to others. One earlier idea, for example, had been for the Centre to write a “report” on theory in TEL research. The current Special Issue was taken up, instead, as we came to realise that the idea of collectively writing about ‘theory’ might dovetail with the idea of launching an open-access journal, and that a Special Issue might allow for a more multi-vocal consideration of the subject matter

What are student inservice teachers talking about in their online Communities of Practice?:investigating student inservice teachers’ experiences in a double-layered CoP

This qualitative case study is the first phase of a large-scale design-based research project to implement a theoretically derived double-layered CoP model within real-world teacher development practices. The main goal of this first iteration is to evaluate the courses and test and refine the CoP model for future implementations. This paper demonstrates the potential synergies between two major approaches to teacher professional development practices: i) teachers’ CoPs development and ii) online teacher education courses. The double-layered CoP model could provide a practical integration of the two approaches by providing student inservice teachers in an online graduate course with meaningful opportunities to participate in two different teachers’ CoPs: i) an internal course CoP and ii) an external professional CoP. Our analysis of student inservice teachers’ CoPs experiences shows that the two layers of CoPs supported each other iteratively through the course period. Several design considerations for the second iteration of the online course design are also addressed

Tracing the social project of Networked Learning

This paper provides an outline of Networked Learning as a social project. Using a theoretical framework derived from activity theory, the paper reconstructs the existing narratives in key texts on a principled basis and traces the project through three phases whose core concepts, in turn, are educational openness, connections between network elements, and connections for particular purposes. Against the backdrop of an ongoing discussion of the meaning and nature of Networked Learning, the aim is to show how concepts of networked learning respond to social predicaments and are used as the basis for institution building, and to illustrate the kind of dynamics that have led to change in the past — as a potential guide to addressing upcoming challenges

Emotions and Networked Learning

Emotions in networked learning have been underresearched despite their importance. The present research is one of the first few attempts to better understand adult learners’ emotional experiences in a specific networked learning context—an online doctoral programme designed and organised based on networked learning principles. This paper takes the initial step of unpacking the intricate interplay between emotions and networked learning experiences, utilising a longitudinal, mixed methods research approach to demonstrate the diversity and complexity of emotions experienced in networked learning situations. Online doctoral students (n=48) completed a questionnaire four times during the first six months of their PhD program, with an interval of five to six weeks. This is the most critical period for students to develop multiple connections promoting networked learning both within and outside the programme. They connected to new people, ideas, and resources, becoming an integral part of learning networks. The questionnaire quantitatively measured the intensity of 36 different emotions felt by each student, respectively, about their networked learning experiences and general life experiences. Participants also qualitatively reflected on the most intense emotions and wrote “why” they felt such ways. Based on quantitative data, a principal component analysis extracted five meaningful clusters of emotions and repeated-measures ANOVAs further showed meaningful patterns and changes in those emotions. The qualitative data was analysed using a constant comparative method to identify dominant themes to provide deeper insights into student emotions. Findings suggest that emotions are in a constant state of flux, reflecting the multifaceted nature of networked learning experiences, through which learners juggle multiple responsibilities and connections across different times and spaces. Two distinct categories of emotions emerged: positive and negative. Despite the challenges and complexities of online doctoral studies, positive emotions remained resilient, underscoring networked learning as a source of inspiration—with the heightened 'Intrigued' component at specific learning milestones. Negative emotions are nuanced, with negative cognitive emotions, associated with networked learning experiences, intensifying initially and decreasing as students adapt; while negative gut reactions are more prevalent in general life. However, a notable release of negative cognitive emotions in general life suggests the interplay between emotions arising from networked learning and their influence on students' broader experiences. Surprisingly, the study challenges assumptions about isolation in online learning, revealing a consistent sense of social inclusion and support within the learning network. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of emotions in networked learning, offering valuable insights for supporting adult learners

A purposeful design for transformative networked learning in an online doctoral programme

In recent years, there has been a growing effort within a research community of NL to re-define the notion of NL and re-configure the landscape of NL practice. The present authors, who are also members of the NL community, aim to contribute to such a collective effort by filling an existing gap in the ongoing conversation—the community has mainly focused on promoting and facilitating the “network” part of NL while assuming and neglecting the “learning” part. The article first argues that the ultimate purpose of NL is to create meaningful personal and social changes: transformative NL. Therefore, the emphasis of the transformative NL design should not be restricted to facilitating learner interactions and knowledge acquisition inside an online course but expanded to helping learners’ holistic development that leads to meaningful changes in their lives outside the course. The article then proposes a “purposeful” design framework including three levels of interconnected NL communities that need to be considered when designing transformative NL: i) internal NL community in an online course that aims to transform individual students’ perspectives through tutor-driven collaborative learning, ii) external NL community in students’ real-life contexts that aims to transform group perspectives through student-driven collaborative practice, and iii) social NL community in broader contexts (or society as a community) that aims to transform social perspectives through community-driven collective action. The article also provides a brief illustration of purposeful NL design in an online doctoral programme in which the authors’ teaching and research praxis is situated

Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning: A project of scholarly conversation

Starting a new academic journal is, at any time and in any academic field, a serious venture: some might say audacious. How will the journal recruit and persuade those with the time and inclination to write for it? Will it find any kind of readership among its target audience? What mechanisms will it use for production, and what effect will those have on how authors publish, and readers access, its content? How will it differentiate itself from other titles in the area? In this editorial, we seek to address questions of that nature in respect of the new journal Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning. Clearly, it would be both premature and presumptuous to suggest, within an editorial appearing in the inaugural issue, that we have attained any kind of success in relation to the challenges attendant upon establishing a new title. Yet we do contend that the concept behind the journal is novel for the field of technology enhanced learning (TEL). On the basis of that concept—a ‘scholarly conversation’ with the particular characteristics of critical integration, self-awareness and connectedness, all terms that we elaborate below—we aspire to mobilise and nurture a community of researchers around the journal. By doing so, we wish, in turn, to intervene to challenge the existing body of knowledge on TEL, and to develop the field into a more recognisably ‘scholarly’ area of enquiry

Faculty Attitudes and Response to Online Learning in Transnational Higher Education in Qatar: A Promising Future

This paper presents preliminary results from a doctoral thesis investigating faculty attitudes, preparedness, and response to adopting technology-enhanced learning during the 2020-2021 pandemic. The current events that affected teaching and learning worldwide necessitated a re-evaluation of the traditional higher education system and imposed an immediate adjustment to teaching approaches. Using a survey and semi-structured interviews with faculty members teaching at transnational higher education institutions in the state of Qatar, this paper presents the recent pedagogical shift experienced during the pandemic. Using a case study approach, this paper examines the impacts of this shift on student learning from faculty perspective and discusses the implications of this shift on networked learning research and practice. Findings suggest that faculty found online teaching more difficult than previously perceived which encouraged them to be creative and innovative in their teaching approaches. However, there does not seem to be an agreement as to whether online learning is the future of higher education as some faculty still see more value in face-to-face teaching. Furthermore, student assessment is an issue for some faculty. Overall, faculty members seem to appreciate the online teaching experience as it allowed them to try new teaching approaches, use new technologies, and integrate new assessment techniques that they would not consider in their pre-pandemic classes

Beyond the Comfort Zone: An Autoethnographic Study of Implementing Augmented Reality in Vocational Education

The primary objective of this autoethnographic study is to investigate how lecturers’ attempts to use augmented reality (AR) in the vocational educational context contribute to their transformative learning (TL) journey. The first author of this paper, referred to using the pronoun ‘her/she’, is a vocational lecturer pursuing her doctoral degree in technology-enhanced learning (TEL), has examined the evolution of her pedagogical perspectives by critically analysing and reflecting on her experiences learning and adopting AR technology in her anatomy classrooms. She also explored and unpacked her educational experiences in the past and the social and cultural contexts in which they occurred to gain deeper insight into her previous and current beliefs about TEL. Her autoethnographic writing in this paper shares her struggles and growth, underscoring the significance of scaffolding and professional networked learning opportunities in nurturing transformative learning in lecturers. In collaboration with the second author, her doctoral supervisor, the first author has drawn more meaningful and robust findings from collecting and comparing other lecturers’ experiences implementing AR in similar pedagogical situations. The authors’ discussion sheds light on the often obscure process of how educational professionals challenge and change their long-held pedagogical perspectives on the usefulness of technology for their teaching and student learning. The paper also reveals the cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions of professional learning and highlights the role of professional networks in facilitating transformative learning experiences. The findings, derived from personal reflective narratives, self and member-checking interviews, and TL analysis, suggest that a strong sense of ownership, extensive classroom experiences, and commitment to critical reflection played crucial roles in supporting the learning journey. However, this experience transcended the mere acquisition of new knowledge; the study depicts a transformative journey wherein theory recognised a fundamental shift in perception through instrumental learning, emphasising the evaluation of cause-and-effect relationships via critical reflection of actions. Therefore, within the realm of TL, this study may contribute to theory by asserting that critical reflection not only serves as a medium for learning but also functions as a tool for shaping the process of learning itself. The dissemination of such pivotal insights becomes imperative for educators, empowering them to make judicious and well-informed decisions, thereby fortifying their preparedness for a transformative journey that, if embarked on without adequate support, may prove elusive