Title:	A SOCIO-TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGY USE AND TEACHING PEDAGOGY IN A DISTANCE LEARNING COMMUNITY: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Author(s):	Rasha Goumaa, Roula Michaelides, Lisa Anderson
ISBN:	978-972-8939-38-0
Editors:	Miguel Baptista Nunes and Pedro Isaías
Year:	2011
Edition:	Volume I
Keywords:	Distance learning, blended learning, teaching pedagogy, collaborative learning, technology use, socio-cultural learning model.
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	49
Last Page:	58
Language:	English
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Paper Abstract:	The sociocultural model of learning views learning as a social process that is situation dependent. Within the context of distance learning (DL), the adoption of such a model requires distant learners to be active learners. That is the adoption of a teaching pedagogy that promotes collaborative learning through a process of reflection and interaction with content and with peers and tutors. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is said to be a valuable tool that can enhance collaborative learning while bridging barriers of distance and time to create a common virtual learning space. This study explores how distant learners make sense of their learning experience, how instructors make sense of their teaching experience, whether a particular learning model dominates and furthermore, examines how technology is being used within the context of a part-time MBA program. Adopting an interpretivist stance and deploying a case study methodology, data were collected via semi-structured interviews with students, academic instructors, and a program head. Template analysis was used to analyze data. Our findings show that students felt they had benefitted from their interaction with each other. They also perceived the technology used to create such virtual classrooms valuable when it was properly aligned with what they believed to be an appropriate teaching pedagogy. While in instances of perceived misalignment, technology was deemed of no added value. We argue that, from a socio-technical perspective, the mere existence of the most advanced forms of technology, without thoughtful use and without the necessary facilities and resources being built in to promote a clearly defined and consistent teaching pedagogy, can actually hinder rather than promote effective distance learning.
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