Examples of CMC in Practice
The opportunities and limitations of CMC require changes and adaptations in human behaviour for successful communication to take place. Skills develop over time and in service of the task in hand. In short, they are functional and context-specific. This 'evolution of practice' is (inexactly) matched by developments in technology and of the software that support its use - which, however welcome, call again for adaptation and change. Every teaching and learning domain is unique and, even within institution, subject discipline and course itself, there is no guarantee that what works for one cohort of students will do so the following year for another.
For this reason we are unable to give a generic set of guidelines that meet the needs of all CMC users. The guidelines linked to this section are grounded from studies of CMC experience across a range of teaching and learning environments. Individual case summaries, from which you might recognise circumstances and issues that are similar to your own, are also linked.
Each case study text, and the guideline documents themselves, are organised under five broad areas of concern, identified by teachers and learners as 'issues to manage' for effective educational communication within CMC environments:
Character of the communication: interaction, spontaneity, pace, coherence, permanence, medium, register, topic threading.
Self-perceptions: confidence, visibility, benchmarking, equity, management.
Learning and teaching relationships: roles, attributions, social patterns.
Getting things done: task grounding, preparation.
Continuity with curricula: context, co-ordination, integration, assessment.
A specific evaluation section per case study is also included.
The Grounded Guidelines and Case Studies section opens in a new window for easier navigation.
Literature sources are listed for those who are interested in developing their own understanding.
