Multidimensional participation in polycontextual computer-supported language learning

Abstract This thesis is an interdisciplinary study on how students and teachers as participants in computer-supported language learning make meaning to their activities. The analysis moves gradually from a more general discussion of participant activity and interaction in computer-supported environments to a domain-specific discussion of language learning and work. The main body of data for the study comes from three different university language courses. The last empirical study introduces a complementary data set from working life. The thesis grounds its arguments on a discourse perspective of meaning. Rather than considering meaning as a property of a text or discourse, meaning is seen to reside in the active efforts of the participants of a social situation. In the particular case of computer-supported learning, a multiplicity of modes has to be taken into consideration. Language, in the sense of words, is a partial bearer of meaning only. The theoretical framework advances from a discussion of computer-supported learning as a hybrid form of interaction to a discussion of situated perspectives and computer-supported learning. The research approach applies multiple perspectives due to the multimodal and polycontextual nature of computer-supported learning. Special emphasis is laid on reaching the participant perspective. The findings highlight the multidimensional and polycontextual character of participation in computer-supported learning. The resources that the participants use for meaning-making reach beyond the textual interaction in the learning platform. Furthermore, the participants have multiple ways of taking part in the educational activities. The context that the participants produce for their actions exceeds the limits of the learning platform and ties the activity to the surrounding world in many ways

Negotiating a New Culture of Doing Learning? A Study of Interaction in a Web Learning Environment with Special Focus on Teacher Approaches

The article examines aspects of interaction, learning and teacher approach in an international, web-supported learning project, which was organised between three universities as part of their programmes in teacher education. The study focuses on interpretative resources which may contribute to how students perceive teacher interventions and presence in web-based learning activity. The roles and actions of teachers and students in a web-learning environment are not merely interpreted on the basis of intentional verbalised moves. The negotiation of the presence and role of participants is also guided by a variety of visual and linguistic cues on the web as well as the discourses around the learning activities. From a research methodological point of view, the article emphasizes the importance of data-driven research paradigms and a wide scope of data-collection in mapping the complex context in which the participants act. As for pedagogical implications, it seems that developing successful pedagogies is not a matter of developing particular kinds of designs for learning environments, new task types or interaction patterns alone. What is important is to involve teachers and students alike in assessing the collaborative processes of learning, aware of the complexity of meaning-making in web-supported study

Negotiating a New Culture of Doing Learning? A Study of Interaction in a Web Learning Environment with Special Focus on Teacher Approaches

The article examines aspects of interaction, learning and teacher approach in an international, web-supported learning project, which was organised between three universities as part of their programmes in teacher education. The study focuses on interpretative resources which may contribute to how students perceive teacher interventions and presence in web-based learning activity. The roles and actions of teachers and students in a web-learning environment are not merely interpreted on the basis of intentional verbalised moves. The negotiation of the presence and role of participants is also guided by a variety of visual and linguistic cues on the web as well as the discourses around the learning activities. From a research methodological point of view, the article emphasizes the importance of data-driven research paradigms and a wide scope of data-collection in mapping the complex context in which the participants act. As for pedagogical implications, it seems that developing successful pedagogies is not a matter of developing particular kinds of designs for learning environments, new task types or interaction patterns alone. What is important is to involve teachers and students alike in assessing the collaborative processes of learning, aware of the complexity of meaning-making in web-supported study

Campus futurus:perspectives on learning and technology

Abstract This electronic publication continues the discussion started by the presentations and workshops in the "Campus Futurus - Learning and Technology" - seminar at the University of Oulu March 4. 1999. The publication covers the issues of learning and technology from various points of view: from philosophical considerations to practical solutions. The first chapter, "Learning theoretical insights and pedagogical models", concentrates on questions of pedagogy. In the second chapter, "Man and machine: Philosophical Perspectives", the authors take a look at learning and technology from the point of view of psychology and philosophy. The third chapter discusses the applications of technology in designing learning environments and the practical problems related to distance education in universities