CITATION AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:
Cite as: Rice-Lively, M. L. (1996). Sense-making in networked learning environments. Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin. Advisor, Philip Doty.
© Mary Lynn Rice-Lively (1996).
You may be able to order a full copy of this dissertation through the author, or through ProQuest Dissertation Express.

ADVISOR:
Philip Doty

ABSTRACT:
Rigorous, user-centered study of a networked learning environment contributes to a view of how individuals seek to understand events and information mediated within electronic contexts. The setting for this study was two university classes separated by hundreds of miles, but linked by teleconferencing and Internet-based communication. Ethnographic research techniques facilitated the systematic exploration of social sense-making and the cultural patterns of behavior and interactions among class participants. Sense-Making names a theory and the process of how people (1) reduce uncertainty or ambiguity; and (2) socially negotiate meaning.

Study participants noted that teleconferencing detracted from social interaction and social sense-making because the teleconferencing-mediated messages appeared to be flawed or incomplete because teleconferencing messages (1) omitted socio-emotional cues important to communication and confused individuals’ understanding of events or situations; (2) confused participants because of the transparency or the opacity of the technology; or (3) omitted contextual information from the message. The absence of sensory (intuitive and perceptual senses) information such as feelings, intuitions, and contextual information during teleconferencing dramatized and exaggerated behaviors and attitudes leading to cross-class section misunderstandings and conflict. Teleseminar participants developed and used their skills as “bricoleurs,” persons who use the resources and tools at hand to facilitate social interaction by inventing techniques for more effective communication during teleconferencing interactions. Participants also sought social sense-making interactions in small groups in the face-to-face setting conducting conversations beyond the reach of the microphone or the camera.

Further study of social sense-making might use alternative data collection techniques such as video taping and analyzing interactions or consider social interactions of teleconferencing participants within the context of their social interactions. The study has implications both for the tools mediating the class and for Sense-Making theory. Users of teleconferencing must (1) develop skills for effective teleconferencing communication and interaction; (2) incorporate alternatives for social interaction and social sense-making; and (3) acknowledge the differences between face-to-face and teleconferencing interactions. Future sense-making research must include systematic consideration of the study group’s social and cultural context.

OTHER MATERIALS BY THIS AUTHOR ON THIS WEBSITE:
See: http://communication.sbs.ohio-state.edu/sense-making/AAauthors/authorlistricelively.html