ERIC Number: EJ1282934
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2254-7339
EISSN: N/A
There Is No 'Virtual Learning': The Materiality of Digital Education
Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, v10 n1 p57-66 2021
The distinction between face-to-face and distant digitally-mediated educational engagement is a complex one, and the two modes are often combined in practice, via 'blended learning' or the use of a VLE [Virtual Learning Environment] to support campus-based teaching. The current COVID-19 pandemic has thrown this distinction into relief, in a context where educationalists have been forced to move to fully distant engagement in a very short timeframe. This paper explores how this predicament has brought to the fore the nature of our engagement with digital knowledge practices and screen-based communication, arguing that the notion of 'virtual learning' is a flawed one. Instead, adopting a sociomaterial perspective, it argues that all aspects of digital engagement are in fact grounded in material and embodied entanglements with devices and other artefacts.
Descriptors: Distance Education, Conventional Instruction, Comparative Analysis, Teaching Methods, Virtual Classrooms, Educational Change, Computer Mediated Communication, Technological Literacy, COVID-19, Pandemics, Online Courses, Higher Education, Blended Learning
University of Alicante. Carretera San Vincente del Raspeig, Alicante, 03690, Spain. Tel: +34-96-590-3721; Fax: +35-96-590-3464; e-mail: editor.naerjournal@ua.es; Web site: https://naerjournal.ua.es
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A