Translating networked learning: un‐tying relational ties

Abstract

Abstract This article explores the social network of learning beyond a functional understanding of social relations. It describes and interprets the realities of networked learning within a particular postgraduate course in an English university setting. It draws attention to some of the limitations of the increasing interest in the use of social network analysis (SNA) alongside content analysis of recent studies in the field of networked learning. In particular, SNA has been used to analyse response relations among participants in online discussions in terms of, for example, density and centrality. It argues for a different approach to a network of learning, focusing on the relational effects of multiple technical and social arrangements and engagements beyond the response relations the online environment is able to capture and store. This approach emphasizes network processes rather than network structures.