#Entry 32 IDT1415 Swan, K. and Ice, P. 2010 The COI a Decade Later /Garrison et al 2010 The first decade of the community of inquiry framework: A retrospective / Xin 2012 A Critique of the COI framework

Although the COI model was formulated more than a decade ago, it still has a central place in discussions about online pedagogies. In what ways could (or could not) be updated to be better aligned with technological advances?

After reading Garrison et al (2010), Swan and Ice (2009), Xin (2012) and visiting the COI website I feel that I still cannot fully provide an answer the question whether the COI can be updated to be better aligned with technological advances thus agreeing with Victoria. My reflections below look at what my experience of VLE's current features offer in terms of the three presences and how these can enhance the use of the COI and which may point at the model being still current and enhanced by these technological advances.

First of all, I want to underline the fact that not having used the COI makes it difficult to give a fully reliable answer as my ideas are clearly only based on what I have gathered from the literature and my experience of VLES while thinking of the concept of presence. However, I would say that as Garrison et al (2010:6) say: 'These three constructs have proven to be relatively stable' and in this light I would agree that there is more to be done in terms of specific research between the presences as suggested by them but with the caveat that since research over the decade seems to support the reliability of the constructs then there may be little need to adapt it at present as adaptation would depend on results available from other studies. In Xin's critique of COI (Xin 2012) one of the highlights is 'communication must be continuously and intentionally produced' and this, I believe, is central to answering the question posed as these technological advances have provided the possibility to bring people closer allowing for better, easier and richer communication. For instance, 10 or more years ago it was possible to have online chats which were mainly 'text' while nowadays online (a)synchronous chats allow for the use of emoticons (adding emotion to the contribution), adding and sharing images, video, hypertext and also audio messages through the use of the Poodl feature in Moodle. I think that these features have enriched the quality of presence (social, cognitive, and teaching) as defined initially and offer the possibility to a richer analysis of the three elements simultaneously. Social presence can be more easily identified as VLEs now allow for 'closer' interaction via for example QuickMail, syncrhonous Chatroom features, audio and video messaging within the platform and the like. Cognitive presence I would also say is more easily identifiable too as it is enhanced by these tools thanks to a wider range of ways to exchange information and how construction of knowledge is then shared within the group. For instance, hypertext enriches the triggering event encouraging and allowing exploration to be faster and more immediately accessible with integration and resolution being affected by this accessibility. Likewise, Teaching presence benefits from these features as they allow for more s-centred design and organisation of content and course features e.g. having sections where resources are clearly labelled and kept, a forum which is used to allow students to also discussion general course issues, ideas and why not share thoughts, concerns and resources (a 'Cafe' as it is called in the CertICT course which is popular and effective especially at the beginning of the course but not only in setting the atmosphere) while also allowing for a richer experience when directing instruction and facilitating discourse.

References

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2010). The first decade of the community of inquiry framework: A retrospective. The Internet and Higher Education, 13(1-2), 5–9. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.003 [Online] Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10967516/13/1-2 [Accessed 14 November 2014].

Swain and Ice, K. and P., 2010. The Community of Inquiry Framework Ten Years Later: Introduction to the Special Issue. Internet and Higher Education, [Online]. 13, 1-4. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10967516/13/1-2 [Accessed 14 November 2014].

Xin, C. (2012). A Critique of the Community of Inquiry Framework. [Online] Available at: http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/755/1333 [Accessed 15 November 2014].
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I created this Popplet after my initial post to help me remember in a more visual way. I am adding it here as it would not show as a comment.