ABSTRACT

This chapter examines technologies that enable time and place independence. Its particular focus is on the affordances of these technologies: their ability to support self-paced learning, offline or online, and group-based learning, asynchronously or synchronously. Self-paced learning offline is a mode of learning that enables individuals to study with the help of portable technologies in their own time, at their own pace, and in their own place. Technologies that support this mode of learning include printed books and a whole range of portable non-print media. Self-paced learning online is a mode of learning that enables individuals to study online and in their own time, at their own pace, and possibly from their own place. The most prominent technologies that support this model of learning include the Internet and various other computer-mediated communications technologies. Group-based learning asynchronously is a mode of learning that enables individuals to learn in groups with online technologies but in their own time, at their own pace, and from their own place. Technologies that support this mode of learning include online learning management systems, mailing lists, bulletin boards, Web logs, and wikis. Group-based learning synchronously is a mode of learning that enables individuals 260to learn in groups with online technologies at the same time and at the same pace as that of the group, but from different places. Commonly known technologies that allow this kind of flexibility are audio and video conferencing, broadcast radio and television, and newer technologies such as Internet telephony (VoIP), inter-relay chat, and online games and simulations.