ABSTRACT

The learning network, the learner-centered Intranet groupware, has found increasing use in the arena of distance education. Lotus LearningSpace, as a new learner-centered groupware, is in its infancy. People are exploring its potential to enhance distance learning. How to tap the full potential of Lotus LearningSpace in a distance learning environment and what are the critical factors that could affect learning in a LearningSpace-assisted class are issues that need to be addressed. But there has been little research conducted thus far on Intranet-assisted learning, and no research conducted on using Lotus LearningSpace for college-level courses.

The purpose of this case study was to explore how Lotus LearningSpace network impacted the HES 3002 distance class, and what were the main factors that affected learning in this class. This study was a qualitative case study. It was conducted in a large land grant university in the Midwest of the United States in the fall semester of the year 2000. The participants in this study were fifty students and one instructor of the HES 3002 class, and three network administrators. The approaches to collect data were the interview, observation, document review and the open-ended survey. The research explored the users’ perspectives and attitudes toward using Lotus LearningSpace, and their experience of learning in the HES 3002 class. The research described the perceived merits and demerits of LearningSpace, and the factors that were crucial in the LearningSpace-assisted HES 3002 class.

Two themes were found in this study: technical accommodation and format shift dilemma. The capabilities of LearningSpace and the students' competency to learn to use the new tools in the LearningSpace constitute the first theme-- technical accommodation; the students' struggle with the learning format or habit change constitute the second theme-- format shift dilemma. Constructivist scaffolding and cooperative learning were found to be effective ways to resolve both the technical problems and format shift problems. This research also proposes three levels of abilities that a learner should have to take a distance class; and ten capabilities that a teacher should have to effectively teach a distance class.