LAMS, forums and learning design

In the following paper, the perspectives of learner-learner and learner-teacher interaction, knowledge construction and social presence will be used to illustrate the different ways of approaching the evaluation and analysis of the teaching and learning that takes place in asynchronous online forums in a higher education context. This will be combined with a discussion of some Learning Design1 issues that have arisen as a result of the implementation and use of forums within the LAMS (Learning Activity Management System) environment. We will end by suggesting that to successfully implement collaborative forms of teaching and learning, it is important to have an understanding of the nature of learning as it takes place in forums as well as an awareness of how the structural position of forums in LAMS sequences can potentially contribute to improving the educational value of forums.