'The Sonic Spaces of Online Distance Learners'

While much has been written about the digital environments where online learning takes place, there has been relatively little critical interest in the material spaces that online distance students occupy while learning. In this session we will describe research where we gathered aural, visual and textual data in the form of 'digital postcards' as a way of gaining insights into the spaces where online distance learning takes place. In particular we will discuss how student-generated field recordings encouraged us to think newly about the ways that online distance learners negotiate space for learning. This session will be of interest to colleagues involved in the design and delivery of online programmes and courses.

James Lamb and Michael Sean Gallagher are located in the Centre for Research in Digital Education within the Moray House School of Education. The research described here was conducted with their colleague Professor Sian Bayne and other members of the Digital Education team, and was funded by the Principal's Teaching Award Scheme.

Gallagher, M., Lamb, J. & Bayne, S. (2016). The sounded spaces of online, distance learners. In L. Carvalho, P. Goodyear & M. de Laat (Eds.) Place-based Spaces for Networked Learning. Sydney: Routledge.

Bayne, S., Gallagher, M. and Lamb, J. (2013) Being ‘at’ University: the social topologies of distance students. Higher Education. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-013-9662-4