Democratizing digital learning: theorizing the fully online learning community model

Social presence

Initially, COI researchers, building on the literature of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), defined SP as “the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally in a community of inquiry” (Rourke, Anderson, Garrison, & Archer, 1999) or as “real people” (with their full personality) through digital technology (Garrison et al., 2000). In this early research, SP was studied empirically through discourse analysis of asynchronous discussion transcripts. This methodology demonstrated the ability of text-based conferencing to support highly affective interpersonal interactions, a sense of immediacy, and group cohesiveness (Rourke et al., 1999). Findings from a decade of empirical CoI research triggered a reorientation of SP as “the ability of participants to identify with the group or course of study, communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop personal and affective relationships progressively by way of projecting their individual personalities” (Garrison, 2011, p. 34). This development shifted emphasis from emotional involvement and interpersonal relationships, for their own sake, to their ability to foster learning communities driven by a shared educational purpose.

FOLC is well-aligned with the CoI’s current conceptualization of SP. At the same time, the issue of whether learners in an online environment are perceived as “real”—based on the work of Gunawardena (1995)—continues to inform FOLC’s conceptualization and empirical exploration of SP because this perception is thought to influence the authenticity of relationships in a learning community, and consequently, the quality of cognitive interaction (vanOostveen, Childs, Clarkson, & Flynn, 2015).

Cognitive presence

The CoI conceptualizes and operationalizes CP using Dewey’s Practical Inquiry model (Dewey, 1933). This four-phase procedural model, considered a generalization of scientific method, begins with a triggering event, and subsequently moves through phases of exploration, integration, and resolution (Garrison, 2016). Exploration often involves individual research while integration incorporates collaborative analysis, evaluation, negotiation, and synthesis, leading to some form of resolution. The key idea is that knowledge constructed in the mind becomes a contestable external artifact, thus minimizing confirmation bias (Garrison, 2016). This process of knowledge externalization finds a conceptual analog in Popper’s cosmology in which “World II” objects (internal, individualistic schema) are translated into “World III” (public thought) products, in order to facilitate scientific analysis, and processes of refutation and defence (Popper, 1978).

FOLC recognizes the merits of Dewey’s model, particularly the focus on rigorous inquiry, and the responsibility of every learner to transform potentially useful ideas into socially contestable knowledge. However, FOLC explores somewhat more flexible inquiry models to operationalize CP. To date, FOLC learning communities have synthesized and incorporated (a) a Science & Technology Education framework built on a social constructivist perspective (Bencze, 2008), and (b) Problem-based Learning that emphasizes learner-controlled analysis and interpretation of contexts (problem creation) rather than teacher-defined problems or triggering questions. Therefore, in place of Dewey’s practical inquiry model, FOLC communities define and explore problems—through consideration of the difference between current and desired situations in relation to knowledge, resources, roles/perspectives, and obstacles—and collaborative “solutions,” most often in the form of publically contestable knowledge artifacts.

Finally, FOLC emphasizes the synergistic relationship between SP and CP, particularly when collaborative learning is supported through online, synchronous, video-conferencing environments. As Armellini and De Stefani (2015) observe, “the social element permeates most layers of cognitive presence,” (p. 9) and SP “operate[s] well as a stand-alone construct (p. 11).” This description represents the ideal dynamics of a social constructivist learning community.

Digital space

CoI views digital technologies and the competencies required to use them effectively as extraneous to the core model. It was thought that to include these elements would make the CoI model unreasonably complex (Garrison, 2011, p. 28). FOLC resists this reduction, conceptualizing the digital context as a powerful mediator and potential amplifier of SP and CP within fully online environments. Using the General Technology Competency and Use framework (Desjardins, 2005), as a sub-model, FOLC recognizes four fundamental dimensions of human-computer-human interaction (technical, informational, social, and epistemological/computational) and their accompanying competencies as prerequisite layers supporting SP, CP, and collaborative learning.

Additionally, FOLC offers well-established practices for the selection and use of digital affordances to foster fully online community learning. Within a FOLC-based program, like the Educational Studies and Digital Technology (ESDT) undergraduate degree program at UOIT, the professional educator seeds the digital space by posting videos to YouTube and providing facilitated tutorial sessions in a browser-based, audio-video conferencing suite. Subsequently, when working collaboratively in small groups, Open Educational Resources (OER) and other web-based applications are chosen by the learners in accordance with two specific principles: (a) resources used must be shareable, and (b) the URL for the site(s) must be provided to everyone in the learning community. The tools and applications selected facilitate both synchronous and asynchronous communication, allowing for greater clarity and effectiveness of interaction than can be achieved using asynchronous technologies alone (Trevino, Lengel, & Daft, 1987; Rockinson-Szapkiw & Wendt, 2015).

In particular, use of a browser-based audio-video conferencing tool, in which each individual is represented by a “real time” (web-cam) image, and by audio interactions through a microphone headset, provides a strong semblance of face-to-face interactions which allow participants to present themselves as “real people.” The use of visual cues such as facial expressions and body language, audio cues from direct speech, and the incorporation of text chat, foster community and collaborative learning (Hrastinski, 2008; Rockinson-Szapkiw & Wendt, 2015).

FOLC’s digital space is an oftentimes unpredictable context for online learning. It is not a neutral space, but one purposefully created by learners whose chosen applications and platforms significantly influence interactions. Even social-media applications like Facebook may be selected as a learning platforms despite our experience that the discussion functionality limits rigorous collaborative inquiry, and places limits on CP. In a FOLC environment, exploring such limits is a matter of discussion and debate rather than a situation to be avoided. Kearney, Schuck, Burden, and Aubusson (2012) emphasize that it is important to consider “what a pedagogical framework for m-learning may look like from a socio-cultural perspective” (2nd paragraph). This perspective emphasizes reciprocity—that learning is affected and modified by the tools used for learning, and at the same time, learning tools are modified by the ways in which they are used for learning (Fig. 2).

A boundary concept

Within the space bounded by these markers, key themes emerge in relation to FOLC educational environments, including: (a) collective identity and responsibility, (b) freedom and flexibility, (c) authenticity, and (d) community and criticality. These themes, as described below, are not so much defining characteristics as family resemblances. That is, no single set of themes is likely to characterize any context of democratized learning. Indeed, some themes, such as freedom and community, may stand in tension, a phenomenon well established in the history of human rights discourse (Grant & Gibson, 2013).

Collective identity and responsibility

In a democratized learning environment, there are significant shifts in power and control. Given that most adults have experienced traditional pedagogical techniques such as lectures, teacher-centred lessons and grade-based assessments, bringing a real sense of democracy to the digital environment challenges previous notions of what learning online can or should be. This requires adopting a shared collective identity, as learners become committed to rigorous forms of problem-solving and inquiry that is valued by the community. FOLC pursues the development of learning environments that (a) build interpersonal relationships; (b) promote distributed responsibility for refining knowledge through challenging feedback that triggers cognitive dissonance; and (c) encourage divergent thinking. The power structure where a lecturer directs the class has been replaced with a collaborative approach where transactional distance is decreased.

Problem-based Learning, authentic assessment, adult learning, and meaning-making provide powerful pathways to community development. Taken together, they transform the nature of learning, the instructors’ role, and the learners’ evolution towards self-directed learning. Learners begin to exhibit greater competence and confidence in using open source digital resources, they require less direction from others, and they become more engaged inquirers.

Freedom and flexibility

As individuals co-design their collaborative learning environment, there is an emphasis on personalizing the learning environment within the community. In this way, adults share both structure and control of the digital space, respecting diverse personal learning needs, and working together to improve performance. Individuals bring a variety of digital tools and skills to the FOLC, and by making this knowledge and skill available to everyone, the community members can improve group and individual performance, as well as abilities to solve problems by sharing the differing resources and backgrounds that each individual offers to the group. Personalizing the learning environment also can allow for a sense of safety and trust from which critical feedback is welcomed and seen as a tool for challenging and improving thinking. Johnson and Liber (2008) discuss the importance of a learning environment which provides a “learner-driven model of education, where the traditional provider-centric role of institutions is challenged,” and they ascribe this importance to the "rise in personal technology, particularly the emerging situation where the power of personal technology is often seen to outstrip the technological provision of institutions” (p. 3).

Given that institutions are increasingly adopting a Bring your Own Device (BYOD) policy, more responsibility is placed on the learner and less on the institution to provide “training” in specific digital tools. This mimics what happens in real world situations, where individuals learn what they need to know “just in time” by, say, using the Internet or other digital tools.

Authenticity (of activities and assessment)

The FOLC learning environment requires that individuals take ownership of their learning and that they contribute to the group as well as engage with the chosen tasks. Consequently, it is imperative that the learning activities are perceived as authentic, based in the real world, and relevant to the learners. Herrington and Parker (2013) state that a pedagogical framework and learning environment within which authentic learning activities exist possess the following nine basic elements: (1) an authentic context, (2) authentic tasks and activities, (3) access to expert performances, (4) multiple perspectives, (5) collaboration, (6) reflection, (7) articulation, (8) coaching, and (9) authentic assessment (p. 610). Including students in the design and choice of learning activities allows the opportunity for autonomy, independence, risk taking, and collaboration with others. If students do not see their learning as having real-world integrity, they tend to become disengaged. This is of concern in online environments, where students might otherwise become disinterested and feel isolated.

Flint and Johnson (2011) concur, and indicate that “if students do not see the relevance of a task, they get frustrated and annoyed” (p. 74). Thus, authentic learning activities are those that include students in selecting the technical tools they wish to employ and learn with; the ideas they want to discover; and the problems that are relevant to their real-world experiences. Chen, Wang, Yang, Lu, and Chang (2013) refer to a “digital playground” (p. 172), and they state that ideal and interactive learning activities have ten basic design elements, including, “real world relevance, ill-defined problems, sustained investigation, multiple perspectives, collaboration, reflection, interdisciplinary perspectives, integrated assessment, polished products and multiple interpretations” (p. 173). These elements align well with Savin-Baden’s (2007) criteria for Problem-based Learning and the role of ill-structured problems in ideal learning situations.

With respect to assessment, traditional practices include diagnostic, formative, and summative, and they are usually based on the concept of assessing a certain quantity of content knowledge or set of learning outcomes. FOLC suggests that in a democratized learning environment, our approaches to assessment need to change. Although we may continue to use some diagnostic, formative, and summative forms of assessment, new approaches to democratic assessment practices require instructors to use more integrative assessment, and to include assessment as a seamless and widely distributed part of the learning process. When engaging in FOLC-structured environments, learners and instructors/facilitators not only co-design the digital learning space, but they should also be co-designing the means, timing, methods, and types of assessment that most accurately indicate learner success. As McCarthy (2013) states, “one of the distinctive characteristics of the millennial generation is the desire for continuous feedback and rewards for achievement, and they continue to seek feedback both in their studies and the workplace” (p. 81). McCarthy (2013) further indicates that instructors need to “encourage student[s] to take ownership of their own learning and to use each assignment to develop and grow” (p. 82). Thus, the design of assignments in learning modules requires learner input to have relevance and meaning. Co-developing assignments and success criteria address the principles for authentic assessment as discussed in Herrington and Herrington (1998) and the notion that instructors should consider “situated learning and the social context of assessment” (p. 306).

Thus, democratized learning environments need to be fundamentally based on key principles of adult learning (Mezirow, 1991; Knowles, Holton et al., 2005).

Community and criticality

“Community” is frequently encountered in the online-learning literature, but its meaning requires unraveling. Veletsianos (2016) distinguishes between “groups,” “networks,” and “communities,” arguing that communities are made distinct by their focus on commitment, coherence, and continuity. Jézégou (2010) argued that the CoI lacked sufficient theorization regarding its community construct. Garrison (2013) responded partly through the work of Rovai (2002a, 2002b), who distinguished between weak and strong communities. Weak communities are those where members exhibit low levels of interaction and trust, and high levels of competition and divergent goals. Strong communities—what FOLC would consider an ideal—form where participants feel connected to each other, communication reduces psychological and social distance, interests are shared, and members trust and help each other.

Garrison (2013) introduces a caveat to this perspective by claiming that strong communities must build upon strong pedagogic leadership, aimed at aligning social and cognitive activities with higher-level cognitive outcomes (e.g., synthesis and resolution). Operationalized as Teaching Presence (TP), the CoI ideal is to treat such directive leadership as a community function rather than a professional role. However, in practice, CoI fails to challenge the institutionalization of hierarchy within learning communities. Indeed, CoI research appears less concerned with authoritarian leadership than a failure to complete Dewey’s full circle of inquiry. That is, it is feared that too much social closeness and group safety, in the absence of directive instruction—an operational category of TP (Garrison, 2011)—could thwart criticality and encourage “groupthink” (Garrison, 2016).

FOLC takes seriously a concern for criticality, and it views recurring processes of constructive feedback among all learners (encouraged by professional educators and fostered through collaborative discourse and effective use of digital affordances) as a key characteristic of inquiring communities. However, FOLC is careful to avoid the ever-present colonial impulse, built into traditional education, that deep and meaningful learning requires directive leaders to enforce convergence and offer “correct” resolutions to problems. With professional educators envisioned as empowering, servant leaders (Parris & Peachey, 2013), and with the goal of reducing transactional distance (Moore, 1993) between professional educators and students, FOLC aligns itself with Rovai’s (2002a, 2002b) definition of a strong community, with caveats.

Further, FOLC offers a simple and flexible description of an ideal learning community, relying on the Community of Practice (CoP) as a sub-model. A community of learners modelled as a CoP, (a) represents a joint enterprise understood and continually renegotiated by its members, (b) fosters relationships of mutual engagement, and (c) establishes a shared repertoire of resources that members enthusiastically share (Wenger, 1998). This minimalist description of a learning community provides a foundation on which democratized learning might flourish.