Categories: Theory & Rhetoric, Technology, Communication Design, Research Methods
Summary:
Pang and Hung adapted an early iteration of activity theory to analyze digital learning. They established a foundation for future similar analyses with their ideas of using collaborative projects, mentoring, multiple perspectives, and peer teaching (they described as "contributing to other learners") to describe community. Their 'object(s)' in e-learning comprised the environment, motivational components, the use of media, personalization, and tone. Under the category of division of labor, they identified four critical skills necessary for e-learning: technology competence, proficiency in writing, teaching style, and fluency in web-based instructional strategies. They concluded that learning was "not a decontextualized activity that is separated from work. Rather, learning is a human activity that is deeply embedded in the social matrix of people and artifacts" (Pang & Hung, 2001, p. 42).
Citation-worthy:
"Activity Theory is a cross-disciplinary framework for studying different forms of human practices, factoring in the processes of context as developmental processes both at the individual and social levels at the same time, including the use of tools and artifacts (Kuutti, 1997). An 'activity' is undertaken by human actors motivated towards an object (or goal) and mediated by tools and the community. Activities are distinguished from each other according to their objects. It is the transformation of the object into an outcome that motivates the execution of an activity (Hung & Wong, 2000). ... In essence, tools mediate the processes between subject and object; rules mediate the processes between subject and community; and division of labor mediates the processes between community and object" (Pang & Hung, 2001, p. 36).
