Lisa C. Yamagata-Lynch

Design Lessons about Participatory Self-Directed Online Learning in a Graduate-Level Instructional Technology Course.

This article reports on a case of participatory self-directed online learning within the context of a graduate-level instructional technology course. The course was about online learning environments and relied on both asynchronous and synchronous technologies. In this case, the instructor and students engaged in collaborative course design through one of the assignments where student teams and the instructor led one week’s worth of course activities and discussions. This article begins with a discussion of the literature on participatory self-directed online learning. Then, the article presents an overview of the course design, detailed discussion of the assignment that framed student participatory self-directed learning and two examples of student assignments. The framing question for organising this case was as follows: What lessons can a team of graduate students and the instructor learn about self-directed participatory online learning from a collaborative design project? The article ends with the overall lessons learned from the case and implications to future design of online activities.

Understanding and Examining Design Activities with Cultural Historical Activity Theory

In this chapter, I discuss the need in instructional technology to understand design within the context of complex real-world human activities. I propose cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) as a theoretical framework that can provide a method for uncovering the complexities involved in real-world design. In this discussion I share my personal design experience at a Global Communications Company and provide a sample case and its analysis about one family’s experience building a Passive Home in the United States.

Activity systems as a framework for scaffolding participant reflections about distance education in an online instructional technology course

This study examines how student reflections guided by activity systems analysis in an online instructional technology graduate course can provide insights to participants and instructors for a better understanding of participant course activities. The course topic was about distance education and was facilitated in a blended format using Second Life and Blackboard for synchronous and asynchronous activities. Participants were introduced to the activity systems framework as a holistic tool for engaging in four periodic course reflections related to activities and learning experiences during the semester. We analyzed systematic issues that participants reported which influenced their learning experiences. Our research findings indicate that by using the activity systems framework as a guide in reflections, participants were able to demonstrate how they wrestled with becoming an active member of an online course while they explored how they could shape course experiences into optimal professional development.

Adult reflection in a graduate-level online distance education course

Abstract This study examined adult learners’ ability to engage in critical reflection concerning their own learning in a graduate-level online instructional technology course. The online course was facilitated through asynchronous discussions, and the course topic was about the design and delivery of distance education. The data for this study consisted of four critical reflection papers about students’ perception of their learning. The Periodic Reflection Tool, based on activity systems analysis, was introduced to participants as a guide for engaging in in-depth reflection about their learning process and completing their course assignment. After course completion and during data analysis, we applied instrumental learning and communicative learning theories to evaluate how participants used the tool to reflect on their personal learning in the course. At the conclusion of an analysis of their reflection statements, it was found that purposeful reflections guided by the Periodic Reflection Tool could help guide adult learners to reflect on many aspects of their learning and we suggest that the tool could be used to examine adults’ transition from traditional to online settings.

Narrative Inquiry With Activity Systems

The goal of this article is to introduce activity systems as a methodological tool in narrative inquiry to gain a holistic understanding of socially shared experiences from an examination of documents. The research question was how can qualitative researchers use activity systems as a tool for engaging in narrative inquiry of socially shared experiences to uncover new meanings by constructing a story? In this article, we share a sample analysis of our experience relying on documents and media as a form of narrative to begin to understand the socially shared human activity associated with net neutrality and its potential impact on U.S. residents. We end this article with reflections of lessons learned from our activity systems guided story construction process.

Interactionist Qualitative Research as a Semiotic Mediation Activity

In this article, we introduce qualitative research from an interactionist perspective. We specifically explore qualitative research itself as a semiotic process with associated actions. This enables researchers to make sense of human interactions in the world rather than solely focusing on semiotic analysis of qualitative data. We introduce Peirce’s semiotics and Vygotsky’s mediated action as tools for conceptualizing qualitative research in a semiotic mediation process. Understanding qualitative research as a semiotic mediation can help social scientists better understand their own role in research, while vicariously gaining experiences about human interactions that they later present to others.