The Voice of the Online Learner

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of context in online settings from the perspectiveof the online learner. The chapter attempts to situate the reader within the contextof the online environment studied, using biographical stories of four learners whoparticipated in a cohort graduate program that was held primarily online. Thereader will experience the process that all the learners went through as they grap-pled with their current beliefs, were challenged and stretched technically as wellas intellectually, and learned to rely on the context of their shared experience, aswell as their local communities, for support and encouragement. The reader willalso recognize the transformation these individuals experienced as they let go ofsome of the pieces of their previous identities in a search for a preferred future.The author suggests that the design of the online program studied was critical tothe transformative learning experienced by the individuals studied and hopes toencourage individuals involved in the design of similar programs and environ-ments to think carefully about the powerful potential of socially constructivistdesign.