Users of online learning environments have often referred to students that take little part in online discussions or class online activity as 'Lurkers'.
This term is said by some to originate from work done by the Open University but probably was already in use in the early days of chat rooms. It refers to online users that will often read material posted by other students and teachers but who will not take part themselves.
Research undertaken by a Research Fellow at Lancaster University into learner dynamic in a local project would suggest that while lurkers may well exist collaborative communities can provide a real outlet for learners who regard themselves as 'shy or quiet' individuals and who you might expect to fall into the lurker category.
In the local research, which was focused on the 14 to 19 age group in a number of UK schools, it was found that the opportunities provided by online collaborative spaces is actually having an impact on these ‘quiet’ learners. The report stated that;
"There appears to be a particular emphasis of certain impacts on ‘quiet’ boys (even though there were fewer of these that self-reported as being ‘quiet’), but the impacts on both groups were potentially important. It should also be noted that ‘quiet’ is likely to encompass at least three different groups of learners: those who are naturally reticent in terms of offering their ideas in classrooms; those who find difficulty for emotional or social reasons with engaging in a classroom learning environment; and those who do not want to be seen by others as being engaged or interested in the topic or lesson."
(Report Soon to be made available online - this citation to be updated on publication)
Many learning environments that are solely concerned with course delivery or assessment may well be missing a trick as the true potential appears to come from extending the routes by which learners can engage with the learning process even where the actual engagement is more about meeting their personal needs or providing an outlet for social interaction.
If we are determined to provide learner access to online learning then it must go well beyond access to content, their coursework or communication between teachers and their class group. The greater the opportunity to collaborate and communicate the greater the opportunity for quiet learners to find their voice.
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