Building Identity through Online Collaboration

Distance education for professional programs in higher education changes as new technologies emerge. Online courseware offers a different medium for the delivery of distance courses previously offered through live or recorded television. The computer mediated communication features of online courseware provide an effective venue for peer and social learning to take place through collaborative inquiry, contributing to the building of knowledge and skills by all active participants. Students grow as a community of learners and, as common goals and priorities are emphasized, begin to view themselves and others in terms of this community, generating one cohesive group identity. This chapter explores how computer mediated communication (CMC) is seen as an effective tool for building the necessary knowledge, skills, disposition, and attitudes needed by candidates to discover their professional identity.