Tracking the stages of learning: concept maps as representations of liminal space

The concept of liminal space has recently been applied to ways of learning: the learning journey through this space encounters difficulties and misunderstandings, that are resolved as knowledge is mastered. Since 1992 the MirandaNet Fellowship, a growing international community of educators, has investigated the ways in which this relates to the collaborative learning in the liminal space of the Internet. These professionals have explored social networking, microblogging, digital mind mapping, distributed video and other innovative technologies to determine how they can be deployed through grassroots collaboration to build the theory and practice of new professional knowledge. The use of collaborative digital mind maps affords tools for the analysis of the stages and development of collaborative learning. From these shared liminal spaces beyond the screen provocative questions emerge about the relationship between learning, collaboration and innovation.