Title: The third generation of e-learning: expansive learning mediated by a weblog

Authors: Yukari Makino

Addresses: Faculty of Informatics, Kansai University, 2-1-1 Ryozenji-cho, Takatsuki-shi, Osaka 569–1095, Japan

Abstract: This study abandons the security system of an ID and password that creates an exclusive and encapsulated community. Instead, it aims to develop expansive learning in which vertical and horizontal developments are integrated into a single curriculum. The author has designed an activity system for expansive learning mediated by a weblog. For vertical development, students work on the construction of verbal and nonverbal messages. For horizontal development, they present their works to the public through a weblog and ask the anonymous audience for critical comments. This activity system includes the vertical accumulation of knowledge and skills and the horizontal movement of different communities across borders. It was implemented as part of a university seminar course in a 2005 pilot study. Based on the analysis of the implementation records, the outcomes and future development of the system will be discussed in terms of the vertical and horizontal developments.

Keywords: e-learning; weblog mediation; activity theory; expansive learning; rhetoric; dialogue; teacher role; online learning; electronic learning; anonymous audience; critical comments; web based communities; university seminars; higher education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2007.013771

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2007 Vol.3 No.1, pp.16 - 31

Published online: 27 May 2007 *

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