Virtual learning environments in the light of the Complexity Paradigm: interface, affordances and equifinality

Valeska Virginia Soares Souza

Auteurs

Valeska Virginia Soares Souza UFU

Mots-clés :

Virtual learning environments, Complexity Paradigm, Distance learning

Résumé

I have investigated, through the lens of the Complexity Paradigm, aligned with the premises of the Theory of General Systems and the concept of affordances, two virtual learning environments (VLEs), defining them as systems composed of digital genres, regarding a VLE as a complex adaptive system. These VLEs were reconfigured from the platforms TelEduc and Moodle and used to teach the discipline "Digital Literacy", in the course of Languages and Literature Teaching degree at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), during the second semester of 2007 and the second semester of 2008, respectively. The analyses have indicated that the textual production of the emerging online discourse communities was influenced by the coupling of different layers of the interface, the textual genres and the communicative and pedagogical purposes and, also, by the affordances which were perceived and acted upon by teachers and learners. The analyzed VLEs have portrayed the characteristic of equifinality, regardless of the possibilities and constraints offered by the platforms TelEduc and Moodle.

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