This thesis describes the researcher’s journey as an online facilitator and reflective organization development (OD) practitioner as she explores how to nurture and cultivate space for learning and collaboration in an online community of practice. The research setting is a small group of mostly volunteers in a national health charity. The researcher adopts a reflective practitioner research approach engaging in a continuous process of story-telling throughout the thesis. She struggles with questions such as her own dynamic role as an outside facilitator, the role of technology, dilemmas of emergence versus design and discovery of purpose. Rather than arriving at a to-do-list for potential online facilitators, she discovers that hosting café style conversations, setting the online tables and enabling space for learning, collaboration and aliveness is more a matter of the facilitator’s capacity to listen, to be authentically present and to relinquish control.

This thesis describes the researcher’s journey as an online facilitator and reflective organization development (OD) practitioner as she explores how to nurture and cultivate space for learning and collaboration in an online community of practice. The research setting is a small group of mostly volunteers in a national health charity. The researcher adopts a reflective practitioner research approach engaging in a continuous process of story-telling throughout the thesis. She struggles with questions such as her own dynamic role as an outside facilitator, the role of technology, dilemmas of emergence versus design and discovery of purpose. Rather than arriving at a to-do-list for potential online facilitators, she discovers that hosting café style conversations, setting the online tables and enabling space for learning, collaboration and aliveness is more a matter of the facilitator’s capacity to listen, to be authentically present and to relinquish control.

While online students should take charge of their own learning and form collaborative learning communities, constructivist instructors should scaffold online learning without dominating course discussions. This research continues the longitudinal investigation of web-based courses at the Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria. The mixed methodological approach this investigation followed consisted predominantly of qualitative methods, augmented with quantitative approaches. I used two distinct online tools to explore student participation in an eight-week online Masters’-level course delivered via the WebCT™ platform. First, I reviewed the use of metaphors in the literature by a framework of requirements for successful online learning. The use of metaphor supports constructivism, facilitates course interaction, helps to avoid students’ initial inertia in online discussions, and contributes to the development of virtual learning communities. I researched how an explanatory metaphor as tool supported online participation and indicated that metaphors eased students’ communication of important and difficult issues. Secondly, I used the tool of a covert virtual student that also acted as an additional facilitator and course helper. I examined the ethical implications of the carefully concealed real identity of the mythical online helper, methical Jane. As she took part in all course activities and assignments, as well as providing her co-students with cognitive and technical support, the students accepted and integrated her presence in their virtual learning community. I consequently analysed students’ reactions to her identity after disclosure of her origin after the course. Although the exposure precipitated students’ shock, disbelief and dismay as she was a convincing virtual student, they did not object to the presence of a virtual student, but rather felt betrayed due to her hidden real identity. The benefits of this teaching intervention include experts supplying technical expertise, multiple faculty enriching the learning experience, and support and teaching assistants and tutors participating with smaller groups in large online classes. I further examined how frequency of course access, discussion postings, collaborative behaviour and integration into a virtual learning community relate to learning and course completion. Quantitative indices indicated highly significant differences between the stratifications of student performance. Absent and seldom-contributing students risked missing the benefits of the online learning community. Students were discontent with peers who rarely and insufficiently contributed to group assignments. Low participation varied from only reading, skimming, or deliberately harvesting others’ contributions, to high student contributions of little value. Conclusions on the formation of an online learning community indicate that the passport to membership of the community is quality participation, rather than prior peer acquaintance. I indicated that students’ learning benefited from contributing high quality inputs to online learning communities while students with poor participation did not benefit from the online learning community. Online facilitators contribute to students’ learning through the timeliness and quality of tailored scaffolding. Recommendations for future research include uncovering the reasons for students’ stressful experiences of online learning; the effect of online assessment on student course participation; the alignment of learning metaphors in multi-cultural learning environments; and the support of non-participating online students. / Thesis (PHD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

Online innovations have been growing rapidly in the past number of years. The integration of online learning with these technological advancements creates significant challenges in determining how the use of technology can contribute to the delivery of learning materials. An area where little research has been undertaken is in determining the skills and attributes online facilitators need to be effective. This study is based on inputs gathered from both online facilitators and online learners. These inputs provided empirical information pertaining to the roles and tasks of both facilitators and learners in an ideal online learning environment. Of what benefit would this study be to future online learning? Taking cognisance of an ideal online environment, the outcomes of this study are categorised into unique groups that will provide insight to the future development of online facilitators and the tasks to be executed in addressing the diverse needs of the online learner in the knowledge era. / Dissertation (MEd (CIE))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

This study reports on the use of action research methodology to generate a critical reflective collaborative setting. The aim was to infuse the institution with the results of this study in order to stimulate debate on the issues regarding change in practice and systems. The suitability of Internet communication technologies, more specifically the online learning community, is evaluated as a delivery mode that would address today’s learning needs. This required the collaborative construction of knowledge in a community setting with the teacher enabling communication and interaction, and facilitating and stimulating the sharing and testing of ideas and constructs. But such a learning scenario was found to be significantly challenging to the current print-based learning experience. It implied a challenge to teaching and support staff as well as the questioning of the efficiency and legitimacy of current instructional design staff and procedures used. The teaching responsibilities and commitment in the online community was outlined as against current print-based teaching practice. The current development and production culture, which restricts innovation and change in practice and systems significantly, came under pressure. The success of the online learning community in the Unisa context was nevertheless significant and it has the potential to serve as an opportunity to re-examine print-based production and delivery and to devise strategies and solutions to increase the quality significantly. / Faculty of Education / D. Ed.

This study reports on the use of action research methodology to generate a critical reflective collaborative setting. The aim was to infuse the institution with the results of this study in order to stimulate debate on the issues regarding change in practice and systems. The suitability of Internet communication technologies, more specifically the online learning community, is evaluated as a delivery mode that would address today’s learning needs. This required the collaborative construction of knowledge in a community setting with the teacher enabling communication and interaction, and facilitating and stimulating the sharing and testing of ideas and constructs. But such a learning scenario was found to be significantly challenging to the current print-based learning experience. It implied a challenge to teaching and support staff as well as the questioning of the efficiency and legitimacy of current instructional design staff and procedures used. The teaching responsibilities and commitment in the online community was outlined as against current print-based teaching practice. The current development and production culture, which restricts innovation and change in practice and systems significantly, came under pressure. The success of the online learning community in the Unisa context was nevertheless significant and it has the potential to serve as an opportunity to re-examine print-based production and delivery and to devise strategies and solutions to increase the quality significantly. / Faculty of Education / D. Ed.