Task 10: Applying activity theory into practice

PLENK 2010 – massive open online course (MOOC)
Our course New Interactive Environments (NIE)

Here is the step by step instruction:

1. Have a look at the PLENK2010 course and try to understand its set up, interactions, subjects, rules, instruments, etc (components of activity system). If you want to, you can also register to the course. Describe the course according to the activity theory and produce its activity system.
2. Think about the course New Interactive Environments and describe the course according to the activity theory and produce its activity system.
3. Compare the two described courses. First, think of the drawbacks of this activity theory while trying to analyse digitally mediated courses, the challenges and limitations you faced while implementing activity theory into practice. Secondly, have a look at these two activity systems and bring forth the differences and similarities of these courses (if any).

For completing the task, the following article might be useful while applying the activity theory (provides some guiding questions). Uden, L., Valderas, P. & Pastor, O. (2008). An activity-theory-based model to analyse Web application requirements. Information Research, 13(2).