The second research aim: the practical implications of the findings

This research aim addresses two elements that could be informed by the findings of the thesis. The first is a design issue and will involve using the findings to inform contemporary design for remote and asynchronous social learning. The second addresses the facilitatory role of the teacher when supervising group work online by developing some resources for professional development.

1.6.1 Designing for remote and asynchronous social learning online. In 2002, when the course on which this thesis is based was first offered, CMC was the only viable option for providing distance students with the opportunity to communicate with other students, with a forum providing an online space where the interaction could take place. In 2014 there are a growing number of technologies to choose from, as documented in the Horizon reports, (the Horizon report is a highly influential forecast about the likely impact of emerging technologies during the coming five years and is produced annually). Unsurprisingly, a prolific body of research on the

implementation of digital tools for asynchronous communication (wikis, blogs, the cloud, google docs, facebook, twitter) has emerged during the period 2002-2014. However,‘the boundaries between collaborative technologies are not always clear’(Laurillard, 2009, p 6) so that choosing appropriate tools and implementing them successfully can be challenging. Deciding on which

technologies to use in a learning design and justifying their choice is important and requires appropriate knowledge and understanding of how a technology can contribute, or not, to the learning experience. For example, in 2011 the course, on which this thesis is based, moved from using the First Class software for computer-mediated communication to Moodle. Moodle is open- source software that has a communication feature that allows participants to automatically attach a photograph, or some other representation of self, to each forum message. Throughout the institution, researchers and

embraced by students. By accessing the participant list of the 579 students who completed the course in 2011 I was able to see that just 28% had opted to represent themselves by attaching a photograph.

When a technological tool is optional it is the student’s decision whether or not to use it. How students will use a collaborative tool is an important criterion when assessing its utility for ‘learning through collaboration’. However, it is not uncommon for assumptions about the benefits of technology to be acted upon before appropriate research has been carried out i.e. technological

determinism. For example, in 2009, when I started this thesis, most Higher Education (HE) institutions in the UK had invested in buying estate in Second Life (SL). SL is a commercially owned online platform that was launched in 2003 and provides users with access to a 3D virtual world. For educational purposes SL was deemed a superior technology when compared to CMC. It was argued that SL could provide an immersive online learning context where avatars capable of enacting movement, representing a physical self, and using voice could be used; that multisensory information could be

communicated through an avatar. Despite the fact that in 2009 SL was evaluated as under-researched by a project on ‘Virtual Worlds & Higher Education’ at Coventry university (CURLIEW) significant investments were made by educational providers and researchers. By 2014, SL has been largely abandoned for educational purposes.

Currently it is the technologies and the platforms that are capable of

supporting Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that are at the peak of technology hype cycle (Fenn & Raskino, 2008; Gartner-Inc.) particularly in Higher Education (HE), despite the fact that, as with SL,

there has been no time for systematic research (Daniel, 2012, p2).

Although the role and true value of MOOCS has yet to be established it is gratifying that a prediction made in 2009 when I began this thesis, that understanding the interpersonal dynamic of interpersonal communication based in a text-based online forum will remain relevant and important, has been affirmed. For those MOOCs with an interactive element writing is the dominant mode of interpersonal communication and the ‘humble’ text-based forum the context. The students who enroll on MOOCs are by definition open entry (there is no academic specification for joining) and distance students. Therefore, the findings of this thesis regarding the student experience of learning with others at distance and online will be offered, so that the

perceived advantages of MOOCs from an institutional and policy perspective do not dominate the rhetoric about their place in educational futures.

1.6.2 The facilitatory role of the teacher

The pedagogical value of ‘learning through collaboration’ is based on a

constructivist view of learning that ‘discussing’ and ‘doing’ together with other students leads to deeper understanding of an area of knowledge. This

organise and facilitate the social nature of this form of learning alongside providing expert knowledge and guidance. For DE the role has been described as ‘teacher presence’ (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001) and comprises three elements, instruction, organisation and facilitation with facilitation the element of relevance for the relational space of the group and the socio-emotional experience of the individual student. Although

guidance is available for teachers who are required to manage these aspects of their role in online contexts (Jaques & Salmon, 2007; Salmon, 2000) it lacks sufficient granularity. The ambition is to develop resources for tutors that will enable them to better understand the socio-emotional experience of

distance students doing group work online.

1.7 Fields of Study: Learning, Emotion, Communication