RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Within a PLE constructed according to the principles of flexibility, symmetry, and attention to means of coordination (Wilson, Liber, Johnson, Beauvoir, Sharples, & Milligan, 2006), as well as in accordance with features of the online participatory culture (Jenkins, Purushotma, Clinton, Weigel, & Robison, 2006; Seely Brown & Adler, 2008), we ask the following questions:

1. 1. What participant characteristics facilitate success within the curriculum, and what hindrances to learning appear? We seek to identify these participant characteristics and hindrances in order to be able to design and refine scaffolding.

To answer this research question, we observed the paths of pilot users through the curriculum and participatory environment. We then conducted follow-up interviews based on questions arising during these observations.