The cachet of constraint

Learners, ownership and power

Abstract

The innovation explored in this paper reveals some of the complexities of power and ownership that practitioners need to negotiate if they are to create institutional spaces where learners can find their own voice. The paper sheds light on current debates about personal learning environments versus VLEs, and argues that an either/or approach is unnecessarily limiting. It proposes, instead, that practitioners will be able to operate more effectively if they recognize the diversity of actors and influences that shape the spaces in which learning takes place. The paper tests this proposition by examining the introduction of a synchronous online tool, highlighting the practitioner values that the project team revealed in its pedagogic choices.