Communication, communities and shaping the future of education as online discussion board moderators
by José W.I.M. Van den Akker
International Journal of Web Based Communities (IJWBC), Vol. 10, No. 2, 2014

Abstract: The question this article tries to answer is who and what is ultimately shaping the future, and what place e-learning including tools such as discussion boards play in that scenario. Not only the globalising context of e-learning but also online discussion board moderators' positions are considered, together with the meme-systems that influence people's thinking and their behaviours. Mindfulness and a focus on agency is seen as encouraging, but the focus on educational performance is considered limiting in terms of community building processes with computer-mediated communication as a tool. Thinking carefully and critically about communication as something other to information and as online communication as something equated with distance thus with longer feedback loops appears necessary. Learning and developing community in virtual context is clearly not as simple as developing more complex thinking and more memory. An integral and 'sensory-sensitive' perspective to complement existing reductionist views on, and agendas associated with e-learning systems seems necessary.

Online publication date: Sat, 17-May-2014

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