ABSTRACT
Learning platforms and the communications they involve can be characterized along several dimensions. We present six here and a seventh (synchronicity) in the next section:
The control of learning activities: Who or what is in charge of the learning activities? (These include traditional answers of teacher or student, but also include underlying software platforms and agent systems and social structures that emerge through the systems interactivity.)
The communication bandwidth (electronic or otherwise). How much information can be transmitted and/or retained and in what time frame? (We also propose in the final section a pedagogical variant of this dimension, interactional bandwidth.)
The granularity at which information can be shared. The content level — symbols, information, knowledge—of the shared information.
The representational forms used to share knowledge. How is knowledge represented —text, graphics, animation, sound, video, or other means?
The persistence of knowledge representations in the learning environment. How readily available are artifacts produced by a teacher or student to the participants in the learning environment?
The pedagogical frameworks that characterize the learning environment. Is knowledge delivered, constructed individually, constructed socially? Does it scaffold and build procedural knowledge forms or higher order forms?
