Blended professionals, technology and online learning: Identifying a socio‐technical third space in higher education
Blended professionals, technology and online learning: Identifying a socio‐technical third space in higher education
The idea of a ‘third space’ located between academic and professional domains has proven useful in exploring changing academic and professional roles in higher education, including in online learning. However, the role of technology in accounts of third space activity remains under‐explored. Drawing on research into the introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at three UK higher education institutions, it is argued that both social and technical factors must be considered to understand, plan for and manage the third space roles and structures which emerge in such initiatives. This study focuses on learning designers, confirming that they act as third space ‘blended professionals’ in the somewhat distinctive case of MOOC development. However, it also proposes the concept of a socio‐technical third space in which blended professionals act as hubs in a metaphorical network of activity, using social and technical means to shape their own roles and those of others.
White, Steven
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White, Su
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Borthwick, Kate
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White, Steven
baadc29a-054f-4294-a8d2-4e839d396dd6
White, Su
5f9a277b-df62-4079-ae97-b9c35264c146
Borthwick, Kate
34fa2da0-35c3-4302-932c-141b94aec4b4
White, Steven, White, Su and Borthwick, Kate
(2020)
Blended professionals, technology and online learning: Identifying a socio‐technical third space in higher education.
Higher Education Quarterly.
(doi:10.1111/hequ.12252).
Abstract
The idea of a ‘third space’ located between academic and professional domains has proven useful in exploring changing academic and professional roles in higher education, including in online learning. However, the role of technology in accounts of third space activity remains under‐explored. Drawing on research into the introduction of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) at three UK higher education institutions, it is argued that both social and technical factors must be considered to understand, plan for and manage the third space roles and structures which emerge in such initiatives. This study focuses on learning designers, confirming that they act as third space ‘blended professionals’ in the somewhat distinctive case of MOOC development. However, it also proposes the concept of a socio‐technical third space in which blended professionals act as hubs in a metaphorical network of activity, using social and technical means to shape their own roles and those of others.
Text
Blended professionals, technology and online learning Identifying a socio-technical third space in higher education
- Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 8 January 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 10 February 2020
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© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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Local EPrints ID: 438468
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/438468
ISSN: 0951-5224
PURE UUID: 6437ca9e-35ec-486d-a91c-ed29841bc13c
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Date deposited: 11 Mar 2020 17:30
Last modified: 23 Feb 2023 06:07
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Author:
Steven White
Author:
Su White
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