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Vol 43 No 3 2012

practice. Therefore, throughout the text there are clear links between theory and practice. This theme of application represents a real strength of the book. Perhaps its only limitation is that the majority of the chapters tend to focus on how technology has been used in America, although there are chapters on Mexican childrens use of technology that go some way to address the balance. Overall, this thought provoking volume would appeal to a wide audience of readers not only because of its applied nature but also because of the highly relevant subject matter. Lucy R Betts (received February 2012) Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, UK Lucy.betts@ntu.ac.uk Friesen, Norm (2011) The place of the classroom and the space of the screen Peter Lang (New York & Bern) isbn 978-1-4331-0958-4 183 pp 19.70 http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc. seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk= 58292&concordeid=310959 In his earlier book, Re-thinking e-learning research, Norm Friesen (Canada Research Chair in E-learning Practices at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia) discusses where that research ts into the major paradigms of educational and social research; his preferred approach is phenomenology, that is, the systematic study of human experience. In this book, Friesen opposes the transmission model of communication and a technologised view of experience, learning and teaching. He uses plain English, as far as possible, in focusing on what he sees as vitally important differences between teaching and learning in the classroom and online. He says his purpose is to investigate the question of what is possible, what becomes difcult and what is perhaps no longer appropriate or plausible in the context of the set-ups that computers and network technologies bring with them ... What are the differences separating screen and classroom as places or spaces for pedagogy? His answers depend heavily and productively on his philosophical stance, which may be unfamiliar to BJET readers. Friesen writes in Section 1 about how experience differs according to the experiencer(s): I, we or you. Riesen notes how researchers into online education often adopt a distanced, objectied and objectifying way of speaking and thinking. He questions the highly gurative or metaphorical language used to

discuss computers and internet (which he claims communicates a promotional and above all instrumental bias). He devotes Section 2 to describing and discussing everyday pedagogical experiences, as they occur both online and in the classroom. He does so not in curricular or cognitive terms but using an experientially attuned vocabulary. He focuses on pedagogical conditions, objects and tasks. In Section 3, Friesen looks at social and relational experiences in pedagogical contexts where students encounter others. He draws our attention to differences in how these experiences arise online and in the classroom, with far-reaching implications. And he particularly notes the roles of our bodies in our everyday relations with others. His Section 4 stresses further the bodys importance in relations with others. Online, what he calls embodied contexts are eliminated or at least attenuated, as he illustrates in looking at the phenomenon of silence, which online signies nonparticipation to a far greater degree than in the face-to-face classroom. Friesen asks us to consider educational practice and experiences in the light of a relational ethics. His conclusions, he says, do not prescribe a single, positive, instructional program or set of techniques, but rather, they point to a range of possible pedagogical practices. Friesen chose an enigmatic title for the book. The place of the classroom and the space of the screen: Relational pedagogy and internet technology hints at comparisons between face-to-face and online learning, but not at why he thinks place is very different from space. He draws on a little-known book by Yi-Fu Tuan, Space and place: The perspective of experience (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2001) and a philosophical text by Edward Casey, Getting back into place: Towards a renewed understanding of the place-world (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2nd edition, 2009) to explain the differences, for example that place is concrete, while space is abstract; later, Friesen says the space of the screen is geared towards convenient efciency, whereas the classroom has no such evident bias. His sub-title shouldnt be ignored, though relational pedagogy is not an everyday term. Strangely enough, Friesen analyses this kind of pedagogy for the rst time in Chapter 7, in writing about online discussion and the role of silence ofine and onlinebut there is no doubt that he has teacherlearner and learner-learner relations very much in mind from the start, and he spells out fully the differences between these relations in the classroom and online.

2012 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology 2012 BERA.

Reviews

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Educational technologists and other readers of BJET will nd this book challenging because Friesen argues, tenaciously and knowledgeably, in favour of a different view of e-learning from the empirical one they know well and usually adopt. He administers some heavy doses of debate based on European philosophical writings. His own text is not dry-asdust, however, because he provides many examples, such as the excellent one of dissecting frogs in the laboratory and online. By getting away from simply considering text in class and online, he stimulates his readers to think about the many differences, and the pros and cons, of the two modes of learning. David Hawkridge (received February 2012) Emeritus Professor, The Open University, & Visiting Professor, University of Leicester, UK d.g.hawkridge@open.ac.uk Hays, Danica G & Singh, Anneliese A (2012) Qualitative inquiry in clinical and educational settings Guilford Press (New York, and Routledge, London) isbn 978-1-60918-245-8 504 pp 43.95 http://www.guilford.com/cgi-bin/cartscript.cgi?page= pr/hays.htm&dir=research/res_qual&cart_id= 272422.26337 Two innovative writers concentrate here on many aspects of qualitative researching which are of primary importance, yet which seldom seem to feature in other texts or part-texts on this topic. For that reason, I envisage that supervisors who discover this text will wish to encourage their research students to immerse themselves in their own personal copies. The writers are researchers who have been closely associated since their doctoral studies, and wish to take their readers on a rewarding journey into what they have learnt about qualitative analysis on the way. They are engaged in, and seek to advise those engaged in, qualitative studies of human conditions and behaviour, within clinical and educational settings. Their text is not directed towards qualitative researches into learning, teaching and assessment. Perhaps because of their wider scope, the shared personal experience, advice and thinking offered to readers forms an especially deep and insightful source for all qualitative researchers. Two early paragraphs devoted to the British school may encourage European readers to hope for coverage of schools of practice on both sides of the Atlantic. But the neglect of Marton, Slj and Entwistle in this scene-setting chapter, and in the index, indicates otherwise. For this weighty volume presents a North American perspective in demystifying the qualitative research process, with a frankly feminist emphasis on relationships and on the affect. European educational researchers will certainly nd

the content universally relevant; but they are unlikely to nd travelling the writers journey taking them into contact with the heritage of qualitative enquiry east of the Atlantic. The writing tone is easy and friendlyand always effective. The opening chapter introduces qualitative enquiry thoroughly, without overwhelming inexperienced readers. It establishes a rationale for qualitative research, and effectively bridges the gap between theory and practice in a reader-friendly way. It closes with a ten point summary of sound advice that will by now have been well established for and valued by inexperienced readers with research intentions. The meaty second chapter deals with research paradigms and traditions in a useful and informative manner, linking the content clearly in coherent clusters as an account of the journey into the discipline. There follows a splendid consideration of ethical issues and how to engage with them. This excels in its treatment of an important topic, but one seldom adequately covered. It is written in the same readable style of combined denition, example and brief discussion. Next comes advice about choice of research topic, principally provided for those who have that freedom open to them. But the content of this chapter contains much wisdom for all who are about to embark on qualitative studies, again linked to brief illustrative examples relevant to considerations to be borne in mind. Another rewarding chapter dwells on the researchers role, in depth and detail which is again unusual in such texts, and for that reason immensely rewarding. The journey then takes the reader on into important aspects of entering their chosen eld, again claried by meaningful terse examples. There follows rigorous consideration of how to evaluate the rigour of ones own processes. Here again the writers display considerable skill in offering readable and interesting content while almost in the passing dening relevant concepts and usefully showing how they can be applied. Limitations of space preclude the inclusion in this review the coverage of data collection, management and analysis. Sufce it to say that the writers continue to introduce and explain relevant concepts and theories, and to exemplify their application in a readable and worthwhile way. They conclude with some almost earthy and distinctly pertinent advice about preparing ndings for publication. I treasure a few books on my shelves for the wisdom which their writers have made available to me. This text will join that small collection. It is unique, however, in that the wisdom these writers have accrued on the journey they invite us to retrace with

2012 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology 2012 BERA.