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to social networks is integral to the performance
and efficacy of online learning. They note that,
“it is not enough to implement new instructional
technologies or collaborations, but an appropriate
social infrastructure, i.e. social networks and prac-
tice that support desired interactions between par-
ticipants, should also be in place” (pp. 322-323).
Their work suggests that a strong social network
has a tangible impact on individual performance
in learning online. Several other studies bear out
this assertion (Conrad, 2005; Guilar & Loring,
2008). This has indeed been the experience at the
Dalhousie School of Social Work.
The ingredients of expanded contextual
analysis, critical reflection, and enriched learning
atmosphere combine within the social networking
and interactivity features of the online medium to
create a new message, one that offers a seamless
interface of practice and education that is critical
and progressive. This community of simultaneous
learners and practitioners promises transformation
of self, structure and social work.
faculty, students, staff and administrators. In the
learning environment, faculty who act as models
in content, in comportment and in the experience
of feeling valued, can nurture a community of
respectful engagement. This direction forward
mirrors that of much scholarship on higher educa-
tion: that attention to process over concentration
on content is the means through which meaningful
learning occurs. The online learning environment
requires the same diligence in this regard as does
on site, campus based education. The early days
saw heavy emphasis on the technological tools
as the foundation for online learning and the
transmission of content as the key to translation
of knowledge. Yet the scholarly study of online
learning has caught up, and it informs us of the
need to attend to social networking, developing
community, the value of connection and building
relationships of meaning. Therein lies the future
of online learning and all its successes.
concluSion
future trenDS
This chapter has reviewed the emergence and
incorporation of computer assisted technologies
in post secondary education generally and at the
Dalhousie University School of Social Work in
particular. The framework of critical success
factors was examined for its utility in providing
feedback on program design and delivery. In
particular, the critical success factors related to
social networks, reliant on the engagement student
learners and faculty, were highlighted, given their
relevance to the deep learning sought via critical
reflection for social work education. Critical re-
flection was presented as offering both content and
process for learning in social work field education
in the online environment. Utilizing the critical
reflection process and content in the field education
courses, together with the expanded contextual
analysis available through the distance learning
format and the enhanced learning environment
available through the online seminar, students have
The beacon of online learning is bright and it
is beckoning educators to experience a manner
of being learner centered that corresponds with
the adult education principles of post secondary
learning. Online learning has capacities what were
unheard of 20 years ago, in its ability to reach
across the globe to unite collectives of students
invested in their academic studies and preparations
for practice. The future lies in understanding the
importance of developing the social alongside the
scholarly; maintaining the “high touch” alongside
the “high tech.” Guilar & Loring (2008) uphold the
particular care and attention required to build an
online community, and while they note the devel-
opment of engaging content and cost containment
as requiring attention, they reserve a particularly
passionate emphasis for the commitment to car-
ing and to dialogue that must be evident among
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