Constructing a Flexible Distance Learning Environment Through a Socio-Technical Perspective

Introduction

With the development of information and communication technologies, the rapid transformation that has emerged in every field constantly changes and diversifies data and information (Kesim, 2007:1). As Şimşek (1994:1) states, accessing information from various sources in less time causes elemental transformations in all fields (ie. politics, economics, social, cultural, and technological). These transformations, in turn, allow positivist and traditional paradigms to be replaced with paradigms that go beyond positivism.

The Newtonian world machine paradigm which shaped our modern world view four hundred years ago retains its original understanding despite being refined and changed greatly since its inception has begun to give way to a paradigm beyond positivism (Rifkin & Howard, 2010:11). Contrary to the traditional paradigm, this rising paradigm has no single truth. It offers perspective in place of objectivity, in other words it offers points of views. The world of the 21^st century is one in which the divide between the real and virtual is increasingly murky, in which the binary logic of 0 and 1 between true and false, the tradition of behaviorism and Newtonian understandings are being left behind. Rather than generating generalizable laws to explain social phenomenon, any given situation is analyzed in detail within it’s own context and unique dimensions. This has in turn led to deep changes in the paradigms of learning and interaction by influencing social sciences, and thereby the fields of education and communication. The cause of these rooted changes is the fact that previous learning paradigms are insufficient in the face of new circumstances, failing to provide solutions to contemporary problems and also failing to meet existing expectations (Şimşek, 1994:2). In a rapidly globalizing and flattening world, universities must be able to educate individuals who are capable of coping with rapid change, who can successfully perceive the world around them, who can utilize modern information and communication technologies, convert information into knowledge, and compete on a global level (Kesim, 2007:1). Under these circumstances, it is inevitable that just as in any other field, new approaches and theories regarding learning and communication emerge in the field of education.