Foundational theory: A New conceptualization of relevant ideas

Some of the fundamental concepts we use to frame our theories of online education have undergone a meaning shift since the advent of the computer age. As such, online educators need to update their understanding of such concepts in the light of the changes their meanings have undergone. This chapter examines the changes in three such concepts: ‘personalisation’, ‘presence’, and ‘communication’ by examining the shifts in three of the more fundamental concepts upon which they depend: ‘mind’, ‘self’ and ‘others’. It outlines a framework based on a ‘discontinuous’ theory of the latter notions; one in which the presumed continuity between these concepts and online reality is challenged. Thus the chapter works toward a new conceptualisation of the terms of our enquiry that responds directly to the way in which shifts in their presumed or default meanings may have led us astray over the past few decades.