Ana Viseu (2000) also suggests that Vygotsky (1978) might be updated and enhanced by considering the wider context and network within which personal learning takes place. Comparing and finding points of connection between Vygotsky, ANT and Marshall McLuhan’s work, she argues that we must evolve our thinking about the role of objects in learning and their mediating effects. Viseu sees the artefact as central to learning. She also proposes – and I agree - that no single approach is sufficient but that there is great value in a mixed model combining aspects of all three.
Given these evolving ideas of how scaffolding may be extended and applied to online spaces, how might scaffolded learning processes in online social media contexts actually work in practice?
In their work on low-income high school students and their use of MySpace, Greenhow, C. and Robelia, B. (2009) found that interactions in social networking supported participants’ social learning through: “(1) validation and appreciation of creative work, (2) peer alumni support, and (3) school-task related support” (Greenhow and Robelia, 2009, p. 1146). The authors found that students used these spaces in pragmatic ways to “fulfill essential social learning functions” and that these were often targeted to meet specific school work objectives, or for personal appreciation and support (Greenhow and Robelia, 2009, p. 1153). Greenhow and Robelia’s work provides evidence of informal peer learning in social media spaces and strategic use of peer support and advice as part of that process.
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