The Body Matrix: A Phenomenological Exploration of Student Bodies On-line

The article explores student experiences of their bodies in an asynchronous on-line learning environment, web-based computer conference (WCC), using hermeneutic phenomenology as a research method. Students in the study experience their bodies to be both here, seated in front of their computers, and there, on-line. The language they use to describe their experience of body includes metaphors around sound, vision, and touch. The sensual language raises pedagogical questions to be considered in on-line courses. A narrative technique is offered as one strategy to address some of the pedagogical questions raised throughout the article. Keywords Asynchronous on-line learning, Student body experiences, Pedagogy, Phenomenology, Web-based computer conferencing I travel the paths of speeding electrons moving beyond the boundaries of skin and bone. Fluid I pass between worlds Clicking as I go Instantly, I am… anywhere I can imagine myself to be. How do students experience their bodies in on-line collaborative learning environments? Do their perceptions of their bodies on-line shape their participation in the learning process? Can student perceptions of body inform on-line pedagogy?