Perspectives on CMC Competence

In conceptualizing the new knowledge society we see the need for a better understanding of learning processes on individual and collective levels. At the same time, learning theory has undergone several paradigm shifts. A broad "cognitive revolution" within many subjects and fields of study has weakened behaviorist or associationist positions. Moreover, in the past decade, sociocultural approaches to learning are increasingly met with acceptance, particularly research focusing on relationships between ICT and learning in different settings. The unit of analysis has shifted from a focus on interaction on the individual plane to a contextual and institutional framework of understanding. It is thus possible to maintain that learning theory constitutes a central research track in the study of change and innovation in various sectors and settings in society. As part of the social changes taking place, developments within ICT create new conditions for learning and communication.

In this sense, a communication concept is essential to the competence focus in CMC, as it is through communication and interaction with other actors and technology that we learn. As actors in society we encounter ICT in a number of different ways, and from a sociocultural perspective, new forms of semiotic mediation play a central role in learning processes. The convergence of different technologies and media thus create changing conditions for meaning-making that are important to understand when research aims to shed light on the development of "digital "literacy," the production of digital resources, and how they affect human interaction.

Equally important is the study of relations between communication, learning and ICT in different cultural arenas. Changes in norms, divisions of labor and competencies are found within educational and workplace institutions, as well as in other types of activities characterized by organizations of networks. An important aspect of this development is thus the challenging of institutional borders. Given these developmental aspects, there is an increasing need for specialized research competence within the field "learning, communication and ICT."

This research track is to a large extent cross-disciplinary, as no single discipline is able to meet the research challenges taken on in this program. The Faculty of Education, through its support of the cross-disciplinary center InterMedia, has allowed for the productive interchange between different fields of research. This connection between a cross-disciplinary center and more established disciplinary knowledge within learning and communication research creates the conditions for creative research collaborations. This collaboration has also enabled the Faculty of Education to further develop its specialized competence in research on changes in learning conditions.

The cross-disciplinary field of learning, communication and ICT creates special challenges for learning theory and methodology, as a multitude of perspectives, techniques and traditions must be interwoven. While processes of change and development are described at a general level, a better understanding is also needed of how change affects specific sectors and settings. The following examples are used as illustrations.

Example 1

When considering developments in education institutions over a longer trajectory, changes in the function of the textbook become apparent. This is not to say that textbooks have disappeared but that they, together with use of the Internet and other digital resources, create new conditions for students as they are exposed to increasing degrees of complexity in their work. The use of a number of sources entails developing competence in integrating knowledge, evaluating sources and linking understandings to institutional norms of approval and acceptance.

Example 2

Children use different forms of ICT in their daily lives, and encounter some of the same technologies in school and other educational institutions. In the former, the use ICT may be said to involve socialization and identity development, while in the institutional setting there is a focus on cognitive tasks in specific, professional discourses. Empirically, the experiences of children and adolescents in institutional settings will influence their use of ICT for other purposes, that is, an institutional, normative agenda.

Example 3

The use and learning of new technologies in all aspects of the workplace may be seen as integrated developmental trajectories. An example of this is seen in accounting firms, which must be continually up-to-date on laws and regulations applicable for their clients. This must happen in conjunction with the continual stream of new software applications incorporated into the firm. Accounting firms must organize learning of both new laws and regulations and the use of new technologies within the scope of the employees' daily tasks. This entails a differentiation in the firm that allows for the organization of developmental needs.

Summary

The above examples all indicate the formation of breaks, tensions or contradictions between and across different parts of an organization/institution. Such breaks challenge borders between social and cultural organizing and the technologies that are used. Consequently, actors need to develop new and relevant competencies that will insure continuation of the social order. Increasing levels of complexity involve the development of new types of communication and an exchange between them. There is an underlying premise that actors need to develop meta-cognitive and meta-communicative competencies in order to meet and interpret various demands and challenges in specific settings and contexts.