The polycontextual nature of computer-supported learning – theoretical and methodological perspectives

Abstract

This article discusses some theoretical and methodological problems and issues in the study of computer-supported learning activities with special reference to a discourse perspective in research. Special emphasis is laid on finding ways to reach the participant perspective in computer-supported collaborative learning projects, which are by nature polycontextual. By this term we refer to the diverse scenes and situations of learning activities that computer-supported learning involves. We will also address the issue of making claims on effective pedagogies, leaning on the theory of discourse as situated and constructive, which again sets special requirements on what kinds of assumptions and interpretations can and should be derived through empirical analysis of data. Instead of rushed normative guidelines for instruction we should now take time and examine critically what is really happening in computer-supported environments in real-life situations. A look at the particular is needed. An important question to examine, for example, is how students and teachers use these tools in their everyday lives and how these processes are talked about. We will discuss through a number of examples the multimodal and polycontextual nature of meaning making in participant activities during three different university language courses between 1998–2002. This article considers relevant research approaches with the aid of theoretical discussion and examples of analysis.