Abstract
Building on The Open University’s longstanding use of forums for teaching and learning, the chapter begins with a general consideration of their use, most notably acknowledging one of the core perceived ‘problems’ with forums: participation. The chapter then discusses the ‘structural’ and ‘functional’ concerns that are related to the use of forums as spaces for learning, using a series of case studies of forum design and use in order to illustrate how a concern with structure and function can facilitate productive forum use. The chapter moves on to highlight broad principles which hold true across different technologies and institutions. Before concluding with suggestions for colleagues engaging with forums, based on the preceding analysis.
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We refer to ‘blended’ learning environments in terms of its more popular usage, i.e. the combination of traditional face-to-face learning activities with online (Oliver and Trigwell 2005), but equally acknowledge ongoing debate around the utility of the term ‘blended learning’ (e.g. Irvine et al. 2013).
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Manning, R., Smith, D. (2018). Creating Spaces for Learning: Online Forums. In: Baxter, J., Callaghan, G., McAvoy, J. (eds) Creativity and Critique in Online Learning. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78298-0_3
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