Theory of Cooperative Freedom
Paulsen (1993) states, “Future adult students will seek individual flexibility and freedom. At the same time, they need group collaboration and social unity.” This prediction about the future of adult distance education has certainly come to typify the current state of adult online education. Educational social software (ESS) defines a wide array of new educational online technology…
Paulsen’s (1993) theory of cooperative freedom identifies six aspects of distance education attuned to the characteristics of computer-mediated communication (CMC).
These six freedoms of distance learners include:
Freedom of Time: communicating when it is convenient (either synchronous or asynchronous)
Freedom of Space: studying wherever it is convenient (anytime, anywhere)
Freedom of Pace: proceeding through learning activities at a flexible, individual pace
Freedom of Medium: access to several media or sources of information (print, video, face-to-face meetings, computer conferencing, etc.)
Freedom of Access: elimination of discrimination on the basis of social class, entry qualifications, gender, age, ethnicity, or occupation
Freedom of Curriculum: choosing among a range of courses and to transfer credits between programs and universities
Educational social software (ESS) provides another dimension to CMC and promotes a wide variety of instructional interactions.
Reference:
Paulsen, M. F. (1993). The hexagon of cooperative freedom: A distance education theory attuned to computer conferencing. Distance Education Online Symposium, 3(2). Retrieved February 14, 2007, from http://www.nettskolen.com/forskning/21/hexagon.html
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