Spatial practices in CSCL discussions

In CSCL environments, space itself - and not only utterances - are objectified. New questions emerge from the relation between objectified space and student activity: How do students react to the spatial resource opened at their disposal? What are their spatial modes of acting within it? What bearing does the spatial organization have on talk? This paper revitalizes the neglected semiotic connection between language and the city. The literature of the perspective of everyday life and other contemporary spatial literature are reviewed in order to better understand the use of space in CSCL discussions, the ways in which it is socially produced, reclaimed, planned, maintained and used. 37 small group Argunaut discussions were analyzed and examined for their spatial development. Four spatial practices are described. The practice of distribution is unfolded. This study argues that issues of proprietorship play a major role in the way discussions evolve.