‘Emergence’ and language (teachers) learning in virtual learning environments

Abstract

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) insertion in Education has raised discussion on new paradigms, tools and teachers’/students’ roles, including virtual learning communities (VLC), as this is the place where online interaction can happen. VLC can emerge in several media, as Distance Education platforms, which have been the privileged medium by teachers/institutions, since they gather resources, make materials organization easier and make – to certain extent – information security/control possible. However, such platforms itself do not assure learning, although they offer interindividual interaction tools. The VLC formation and maintenance are related not only to tools and features which are part of pedagogical practice, but mainly to the intertwined relationship between proposal, actions and resources. In this context, the study approaches how two VLCs emerged in a CALL material development online course. The theoretical background was especially constituted by two Complexity and Chaos related theories: Emergence and Qualitative Values Theory.