Envisioning Potential: Stories of Networked Learning Designs from a UK University

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore how the design of networked learning can contribute to building a shared understanding of the applications of new technologies. We draw on our own experiences of the managed introduction of a virtual learning environment (VLE) in a higher education institution and apply techniques of narrative inquiry to aid our understanding. We have explored narrative accounts from different stakeholders in terms of an overarching theme of “building shared understandings”, which we have organised around three areas of our experience, namely designing for a community, developing a discourse, and developing artefacts. We argue that design decisions in these three areas have been highly signi?cant in terms of the levels of acceptance and future direction of an online learning implementation