We are not numbers: The use of identification codes in online learning

dc.contributor.authorFrancis-Poscente, Kristaen_US
dc.contributor.authorMoisey, Susan Darlene
dc.date.accessioned2013-04-11T16:03:35Z
dc.date.available2013-04-11T16:03:35Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractThis paper discusses students’ experiences with the use of identification codes in a graduate course delivered asynchronously via the Internet. While teaching an introductory masters level graduate course in distance learning, the authors discovered that the learning management system, Moodle, was programmed to display identification codes rather than student names when in the Student View mode. Consequently, when students participated in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) text discussions, their posts were attributed to their computer-generated IDs. Investigation into the identification protocol revealed that the institution had adopted a policy of using identification codes to comply with Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act. We wondered what it meant to graduate students to be identified by a computer generated code rather than by name. In the context of an asynchronous CMC discussion forum, we asked how the use of an identification code affected students’ sense of identity within the online learning environment. Analysis of their responses revealed categories relating to personal identity (depersonalization and anonymity), social identity (community, learning, and engagement), and questions concerning suitable names for identification purposes. Most learners felt strongly that they should not be known through a numeric code and that their name was more personable.en_US
dc.description.refereedYesen_US
dc.identifier.citationFrancis-Poscente, K. & Moisey, S. (2012). We are not numbers: The use of identification codes in online learning, The Journal of Distance Education 26(2). Available: http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/801en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/31660
dc.identifier.issn1916-6818 (Online)
dc.identifier.issn0830-0445 (Print)
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/49464
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherJournal of Distance Educationen_US
dc.publisher.corporateUniversity of Calgaryen_US
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Educationen_US
dc.rightsAttribution 3.0 Unported*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/*
dc.subjectDistance learningen_US
dc.subjecte-Learningen_US
dc.subject.otheridentityen_US
dc.subject.otheridentification codeen_US
dc.subject.otherFOIPen_US
dc.subject.otherprivacyen_US
dc.subject.otherasynchronous text discussionen_US
dc.titleWe are not numbers: The use of identification codes in online learningen_US
dc.typejournal article
thesis.degree.disciplineSTEMen_US
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