META COMMUNICATION CONCEPT AND KNOWLEDGE BUILDING PROCESS IN DISTANCE EDUCATION Ugur DEMIRAY, Professor Faculty of Communication Sciences, Anadolu University, Eskisehir-TURKEY udemiray@anadolu.edu.tr ABSTRACT This chapter examines and focuses on some issues and questions relating to how the use of meta communication concept should be functional and influences for knowledge building process. Verbal communication is supported by a raft of non-verbal signs and cues that reinforce what we are saying or clear up any ambiguities. For example, we may cross our arms when we feel threatened by what somebody else is saying, or we nod our heads when we agree with what they are saying. “Meta Communication” is the process between message designers when they are talking about the learning process, as distinguished from their articulation of the “substantive” learning, itself. The hope is to increase the focus on the substantive knowledge and understanding being developed, by providing a separate channel for the support communication, and to do it in an easy, focused, and context aware manner. This may be particularly useful when the opportunity for face-to-face meta-communication is missing, as in much distance learning. McLean, R. S. (2005) To understand knowledge building it is essential to distinguish learning--"the process through which the cultural capital of a society is made available to successive generations" from knowledge building--the deliberate effort to increase the cultural capital. This, in turn, requires distinguishing knowledge building from a broad range of activities that share its constructivist underpinnings, but not its focus on the creation of new knowledge. These include collaborative learning, guided discovery, project-based learning, communities of learners, communities of practice, and anchored instruction. Dynamics of knowledge building is summarizing as working on the creation and improvement of ideas. The dynamic is social, resulting in the creation of public knowledge. In contrast to knowledge situated within the individual mind (the traditional concern of education) and knowledge situated in the practice of groups (the concern of situated cognition and communities of practice), public knowledge has an out-in-the-world character. What makes knowledge building a realistic approach to education is the discovery that children as early as grade one can engage in it. Thus there is a clear developmental link running from childhood education on into advanced education and adult knowledge work, in which the same process is carried out at increasingly high levels (http://www.ikit.org/kb.html retrieved March 11, 2009). Researchers from multiple disciplines (such as cultural studies, intercultural studies, linguistics, sociology, education, human-computer interaction, distance learning, learning technologies, philosophy and others) have initiated studies to examine virtual intercultural communication. The interdisciplinary of the field, however, offers distinct challenges: in addition to embracing different definitions of ‘culture’, investigators lack a common literature or vocabulary. Communicative encounters between groups and individuals from different cultures are variously described as cross-cultural, intercultural, multicultural or even transcultural. Researchers use terms such as the Internet, the World Wide Web, cyberspace, and virtual (learning) environments (VLE) to denote overlapping though slightly different perspectives on the world of networked digital communications. Others focus on CMC (computer-mediated communication), ICTs (Internet and communication technologies), HCI (human computer interaction), CHI (computer-human interaction) or CSCW (computer-supported cooperative work) in explorations of technologies at the communicative interface. Keywords: Distance education, knowledge building, knowledge building process, knowledge building theory, meta communication. META-COMMUNICATION CONCEPT The prefix can have various meanings but as used in communication, philosophy and psychology its meaning is best recognized as about. Thus, meta-communication is communication about communication; meta-language is language about language; meta-message is a message about a message. Take it this way! You can communicate about the world - about the desk you’re sitting at, the computer you are using, or the passage you’re reading right now. We refer to this as object communication; because you are talking about objects. And the language you are using is called an object language. But notice that you are not limited to talking about objects; you can also talk about your talk; you can communicate about your communication. And this is referred to as meta-communication. In the same way, you can use language (i.e., meta-language) to talk about language (i.e., object language). And you can talk about your messages with meta-messages. The distinction between object communication and meta-communication is not merely academic; it’s extremely practical, and it is recognized that the difference between these two forms of communication is essential in untangling lots of conflicts and understanding a wide variety of interpersonal communication interactions. Actually, you use this distinction every day, perhaps without realizing it. For example, when you send someone an e-mail with a seemingly sarcastic comment and then put a smiley at the end, the smiley communicates about your communication; it says something like “this message is not to be taken literally; I’m trying to be humorous.” The smiley is a meta-message; it’s a message about a message. When you say, in preface to some comment, “I’m not sure about this but....” you’re communicating a message about a message; you’re commenting on the message and asking that it be understood with the qualification that you may be wrong. When you conclude a comment with “I’m only kidding” you’re meta-communicating; you’re communicating about the communication. In relationship communication you often talk in meta-language and say things like, “we really need to talk about the way we communicate when we’re out with company” or “you’re too critical” or “I love when you tell me how much you love me.” In fact, it might be argued that relationship or couples therapy is largely (though not entirely) a process of exploring your communication patterns through communication, through talking about the way you talk to and about each other. And, of course, you can use nonverbal messages to meta-communicate. You can wink at someone to indicate that you’re only kidding, look longingly into another eyes when you say “I love you” to show that you really mean it, or sneer after saying “Yeah, that was great,” with the sneer contradicting the literal meaning of the verbal message. All non-verbal elements of communication are sometimes called ‘meta-communication’, from the Greek word ‘meta’ meaning ‘beyond’ or ‘in addition to’. ‘Meta-communication’ is therefore something ‘in addition to the communication’ and we must always be aware of its existence. It is essential to remember that the meta-communication which accompanies any message is very powerful. The receiver will use these clues to help them to interpret what you mean, but more importantly they will often take the meaning from the meta-communication rather than from the words themselves, particularly when what you are saying conflicts with what you are doing. If, for example, you are angry but trying to hide your anger you must be aware of your body posture, the way you use your eyes, gestures and facial expressions, and the tone of your voice, which may well give you away. Similarly, in writing, the ‘tone of your voice’ may show. The verbalization of attributions between partners could lead into the process of “intentional meta-communication” as described by Perlmutter and Hatfield (1980). These authors claim that while meta-communication accompanies all messages and is often unconscious, intentional meta-communication occurs when people talk consciously about the relational context of their messages. The possibilities for actual change in the relationship begin at the level of intentional meta-communication. Newman (1981) claims, “To what extent intentional meta-communication actually occurs, and actually facilitates relational change, is a subject in need of further investigation” (1981, p. 129). KNOWLEDGE BUILDING AND THE “COMMUNICATION” Of course communication skills are important to developing professional and personal relationships. Relationships begin and grow through communication, and the quality of communication influences the quality of the relationships. Effective communication skills are essential. Without them, one's effectiveness in all roles in life -professional, leader, manager, parent, friend, etc.- is limited. Coalitions have been defined as "individuals or organizations working together in a common effort . . . for a common purpose to provide better services at lower cost." Good communication is required for individuals or individual organizations to establish coalitions, cooperate with one another, determine a common purpose and coordinate efforts. The first step in developing these skills is to understand what communication is, ways we communicate and methods of communication. This is particularly important when working with groups. (Beckham, & King, 2008). A true knowledge building environment facilitates learning—learning that is centered around ideas and deeper levels of understanding rather than the completion of often unrelated activities. The process of "knowledge building” defines problems and hypothesizing, researching and collecting information, analyzing and collaborating. A team of researchers, teachers, administrators, and computer scientists has collaborated over the past decade to create the research basis and subsequent designs for Knowledge Forum. Based on the original knowledge building program named CSILE (Computer Supported Integrated Learning Environment which is given in detail below), this "second-generation" CSILE product incorporates advanced features and technology for fostering knowledge building outside and in the classroom. In their research, the team considered learning in both private and public sectors. Comparisons of the organizations of traditional schools, university-level research institutes, and highly successful commercial corporations clearly point to the common link in these successful organizations—the production of knowledge. Researchers have concluded that maximizing this production requires structures that define everyone as contributors. Unfortunately, most classrooms are not organized this way. Knowledge Forum was developed to change this. In Knowledge Forum, students are expected to pose questions, define their own learning goals, acquire and build a knowledge base, and collaborate with one another. Built-in scaffolds ´cue´ students to the thinking strategies that characterize ´expert learners´ while the structure of the database with its communal views necessitates sharing of information via computer in distance ed.. Students contribute public notes, "build-on" to others' ideas, and "reference" the work of peers. The ongoing practice of these advanced operations, combined with teacher support and coaching, helps students acquire the sorts of learning strategies that characterize expert learners. (http://www.knowledgeforum.com/Kforum/InAction/resrch.htm retrieved March 20, 2009). To understand knowledge building it is essential to distinguish learning -"the process through which the cultural capital of a society is made available to successive generations" from knowledge building- the deliberate effort to increase the cultural capital. This, in turn, requires distinguishing knowledge building from a broad range of activities that share its constructivist underpinnings, but not its focus on the creation of new knowledge. These include collaborative learning, guided discovery, project-based learning, and communities of learners, communities of practice, and anchored instruction and distance learning. Knowledge building teaches students how to develop a repertoire of skills that allow them to become experts in the art of learning, a skill that, once developed, can be used across their academic and working lives. In a knowledge-building environment, structured assignments can assist learning for students, rather than teachers, are invested with the individual and collective responsibility to identify holes in their knowledge, develop plans to close them, and assess progress in attaining their goals. Learning needs, discovered through structured assignments, determine the activities students perform in order to master a specific subject. Knowledge building may bridge the chasm between the classroom and the corporation, because it allows students to develop the skills involved in learning, thinking critically and working co-operatively with others. (retrieved on April 1, 2009, http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/Reports/LessonsInLearning/RSS/LinL20070906_Building-knowledge-building-the-future.htm). In education, however, it seems more difficult for students to take on higher levels of cognitive responsibility, as evident in the literature related to project based learning PBL. In light of the findings of this research, the limitations of the technology tools in supporting the socio-cognitive dynamics of knowledge building discourses and activities need to be overcome by promoting a knowledge building culture that encourages every participant to take responsibility for the overall advancement of community knowledge. The social and emotional aspects of a knowledge building culture can be a powerful motivator to engage participants in higher-level knowledge work. Approaches to encourage a knowledge building culture include structuring a task specific knowledge building activity and creating conditions that compel collaborative knowledge building. (Chen, & Chen, 2007, p. 12) DYNAMICS OF KNOWLEDGE BUILDING AND META-COMMUNICATION The idea of knowledge as a product, enjoying an existence independent of individual knowers, presents epistemological difficulties that educators are not accustomed to contending with. More familiarly, the problems of objectified knowledge are being wrestled with in such contexts as technology transfer, institutional memory, and intellectual property law. In science, it is clear that when we talk about Newton's theory we are not talking merely about something once encoded in Newton's brain but about something that even today is discussed, tested, taught, applied, evaluated, and credited with causal force. When we speak of schools as knowledge-building communities, we mean schools in which people are engaged in producing knowledge objects that, though much more modest than Newton's theory, also lend themselves to being discussed, tested, and so forth without particular reference to the mental states of those involved and in which the students see their main job as producing and improving such objects. Restructuring schools as knowledge-building community’s means, to our minds, getting the community's efforts directed toward social processes aimed at improving these objects, with technology providing a particularly facilitative infrastructure. (Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. 1994) Newman (1981) wrote an article linking attribution-making with meta-communication in ongoing, intimate relationships. Newman states that meta-communication can be “a message which signals how a person intends a message, how a person wants the message to be answered, how a person is attempting to define the relationship, etc” (1981, p. 124). Newman (1981) also points out that one person’s interpretation of meta-communication may be distinct from another person’s intended meta-communication. Newman suggests, “[K]nowledge of implicit attribution-making, or interpreted meta-communications, might aid in the prediction of subsequent interpersonal responses” (1981, p. 125). Attributions constitute the cognitive counterparts to actual messages of meta-communication. Attribution-making could either accompany a person’s experience of a particular interpersonal event or could follow that experience over various stages of time; it could be invoked with varying degrees of conscious thought, and it could serve to explain either one’s own communicative responses or the responses of a partner. In a similar way, it can be said that prefix a large number of terms to distinguish them from their object counterparts about theories. For instance, when you consider the qualities that a theory must have (say that it has clearly defined terms and is capable of being disproved), meta theoretical statements; they are statements about theories and not about the way communication works or about first encounters or about persuasion; they are about theories as theories. Knowledge building is work on the creation and improvement of ideas. The dynamic is social, resulting in the creation of public knowledge. In contrast to knowledge situated within the individual mind (the traditional concern of education) and knowledge situated in the practice of groups (the concern of situated cognition and communities of practice), public knowledge has an out-in-the-world character. Public knowledge can itself become an object of inquiry and the basis for further knowledge building. Thus there is the possibility of a knowledge building dynamic that drives the continual creation and advancement of new knowledge. What makes knowledge building a realistic approach to education is the discovery that children as early as grade one can engage in it. Thus there is a clear developmental link running from childhood education on into advanced education and adult knowledge work, in which the same process is carried out at increasingly high levels (http://ikit.org/kb.html retrieved on April 5, 2009). Like all your communication, your meta-communication may be used both effectively and ineffectively. Generally, it’s helpful to analyze your talking patterns and the ways in which you and your partner or management and workers, say, relate to each other. This is good; this is the effective use of meta-communication and can often lead to significant improvements in your own relationships. But, when you substitute talking about your communication for talking about a problem, you’re likely to create more problems than you had originally. For example, let’s say you’re part of a couple discussing your child’s getting into trouble with the police. As long as the conversation is focused on the child and the trouble with the police, it seems you’re addressing the problem at hand. But, there is also a tendency to substitute talk about the talk for talk about the problem. Let’s say one person says “You’re just an uncaring parent.” Then the other person focuses on being called “uncaring” and the conversation now veers off into whether “uncaring” is justified and may entail a list of all the actions that demonstrated a great deal of caring. The conversation (and soon-to-be argument) is now between the parents and their view of each other. When this type of talk becomes the sole or main topic of conversation, you’re into what is called a meta-communication spiral, with your talk focusing more and more on the ways you talk and less and less on the problem of the child. So, the lessons to be learned from meta-communication are two fold: Use meta-communication to improve your interpersonal and relationship communication to preface important messages or to analyze and ultimately improve relationship communication, for example, and avoid meta-communication when it substitutes for addressing an immediate problem. (retrieved on April 22, 2009 http://tcbdevito.blogspot.com/2007/11/abcd-meta-communication.html) In communication, information is transmitted from between and receiver. Both interpret the information they receive and control the information they give (see impression management). Much information in communication is implicit and not expressed in words. It is "embedded" in the situation, in which the communication takes place. ("Put that there!" may be a perfectly intelligible statement in a face-to-face meeting, though to an outsider it is completely indefinite.) In communication it is therefore important to make it clear at all times "what kind of situation" (what kind of context) one is in. If we say (first) "this is play", we can (afterwards) allow ourselves to do and say things that might otherwise be offensive (Bateson 1955). Such communication about the situation in which interaction takes place, is called meta-communication. De Vito (2000) suggests that for a message to have meaning, both elements, verbal and nonverbal, need to be present. He defines nonverbal communication as communicating without words: “You communicate nonverbally when you gesture, smile or frown, widen your eyes, move your chair closer to someone, wear jewellery, touch someone, raise your vocal volume, or even when you say nothing” (DeVito, 2000, p. 130). According to DeVito, meta-communication is “communication that refers to other communications” (2001, p.136). In other words, meta-communication is talking about talk or communication. For example, if two married people sitdown to talk about an argument they just had, they are meta-communicating because they are talking about the communication that happened in the argument. Meta-communication can be communication about both verbal and nonverbal communication. If a girlfriend is talking to her boyfriend and she complains that her boyfriend does not seem to be listening to her judging from his lack of eye contact (nonverbal communication), then the girlfriend is meta-communicating because she is talking about her boyfriend’s nonverbal communication. Mann UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research VI (2003) Research on meta-communication is not abundant; however, some studies do exist. Patch and Hoang (1997) studied the use of meta-communication in compliance-gaining strategies. Patch and Hoang found that a person who is asked to comment explicitly on the appropriateness of a single request may find it less distressing to comply with the request than to engage in a meta-communicative confrontation with the requester. This study was tested among strangers and not in a romantic relationship context, however. Another study done by Patch (1995) found that the use of meta-communication led to higher ratings of power and tension. Patch’s (1995) study discovered that meta-communication is more stressful when a friend is involved than when a stranger or a casual acquaintance is involved because meta-communication seems to generate more feelings of rudeness and tension between friends than between strangers or acquaintances. Another finding was that meta-communication was considered to be less acceptable among friends than among strangers. Patch’s (1995) data came from scenario judgment studies that tested meta-communication in the contexts of friends and strangers. Patch stated at the end of his research that the significance of meta-communication should be explored in future research across a broader spectrum of relationship contexts. The use of meta-communication in families has been a lightly touched-on area of research. One study discussed the types of reported talk and the differences between mothers’ and fathers’ usage of meta-communication (Ely and at. al., 1995). This study found that mothers used reported speech, or reports of one’s own or someone else’s past speech, far more frequently than did fathers or children. Again, this study was not completed within the context of a romantic relationship. Dainton’s study (2000) found that the more an individual perceives his or her partner as using maintenance behaviors relative to his/her own expectation, the more satisfied the individual was with the relationship. Another finding of Dainton’s (2000) research was the evidence that actual behaviors are relatively more important in predicting satisfaction than are discrepancies between actual and expected behaviors. Dindia and Baxter (1987) found no relationship between maintenance/repair strategies and marital satisfaction. Dindia and Baxter assert, “[T]he absence of a significant relationship between strategy choice and satisfaction suggests that belief in communication and togetherness may be a cultural folk myth, not actuality” (1987, p. 155). A statement such as this deserves and requires further inquiry. Newman’s (1981) article states that both verbalized and unverbalized interpersonal attributions might reflect those interpersonal and intrapersonal perceptions which sustain particular patterns of relating and contribute to relationship satisfaction or dissatisfaction. So, relationship satisfaction has been researched when linked to a number of concepts studied in the communication field; however, relationship satisfaction’s link to meta-communication has not been studied and, therefore, may be a copious relationship to research. Research on meta-communication is limited, especially in the context of romantic relationships and how meta-communication relates to relationship satisfaction. Research on meta-communication and relationship satisfaction exists, but the two concepts are rarely related to one another. When considering reality, logic leads one to think that communication about communication would lead to greater levels of relationship satisfaction. As it is mentioned above the most important phase in building knowledge is using meta communicational element. We can discuss many examples as meta-communicational elements in education materials which are produced for traditional or distance education environments, domestically and universally. But we should discuss the exact universal examples here rather than domestic ones. For example let’s look at the traffic education course. Some symbols talk us universally: For example “DO NOT HORN”, mean is not disturb here, please be careful, there is some sensitive thing around here like school, hospital etc. The meanings of these symbols and their function for our life with correct running of the traffic system talk us from various aspects of possibilities as described by the teachers. Also this would mean to discuss with learners for receiving their critics and thoughts during this traffic education period. Learning of other signs and rules of traffic education are similar on using meta communication process and its function. Since, we have to learn and teach these certain rules and values via signs and symbols by the same meaning. These meanings do not change in different societies or in between different regions of the same society. In this context maybe life sciences have more advantages than the social ones like history, philosophy, geography or literature. In social sciences terms and concepts appear more abstract and we have to think more in abstract terms. However the terms of life sciences like chemistry, physics or math have more definite signs, symbols and icons for their contents. So that we can use meta communicational elements more often and also functionally while producing educational materials in instruction for these fields. Other examples are useful to clarify understanding of meta communication concept and its function in life long learning process with our daily life. For example some signs dealt with disabled person which are conveniently understand each others in same the meaning of parking for disabled person, toilet for disabled person, meal for disabled person, path for disabled person, reserve for disabled person, line for disabled person which we can meet anywhere. The word 'disabled' is unnecessary. We understand meaning of these symbol very brief and than behave how it necessary in social perspective. Let’s have look deeper to examples from the math course world. Usually 2x2 is 4 on2+2=4 in every corner of the world or to take area of square into consideration can be formulating square of on side length in everywhere. If formula of square’ area indicates or shows, it means computing of square’ area in any language, even change of the length of the sides does not chance way of computing of square’ area. Only numbers change and formula stay in the same body. When we sow formula of square’ area, we think and animate in our mind that square’ area is equal to one side’s square. These formulas are bringing a picture to our mind as automatically. triangle = one half times the base length times the height of the triangle for circle = r 2 For area of square = a 2, for area of rectangle = ab They known by us or we had imitated this formulas in math course around 4th primary level education. We still remember these formulas as certain concept in picture form. It is just like traffic signs. Some formulas are important for life science have the same importance for our daily life, so we do not forget them any time. We use them automatically such as reflex. These are examples from the certain life science which learned at certain education level in our education life. Some graphs are tell us very briefly what is happening in the diagram on some increasing success, increasing producing, increasing for population or decreasing success, decreasing producing, decreasing dead rate, increasing birth rate and increasing child dead rate etc. On graphing functions, with examples, try to give detailed info and matched mentioned subjects. The properties of the graphs of linear, quadratic, rational, trigonometric, absolute value, logarithmic, exponential and piecewise functions are analyzed in details. Detailed info and explanations to the examples are included. As seen in these examples we do not need to talk or tell much. Concepts such as asymptotes or colors for graphs of rational, logarithmic and exponential functions are explored numerically. It gives the main idea in general info at initial seeming. They help us to tell very complex results in basic and brief explanation. Asymptotes, colors, legends and charts have their own meanings which are decode in our mind immediately. This decoding tells us correlations and differentiations with each other. Another example deals with etiquettes. Etiquettes are practicing in good manners or to know how to behave in given situation and to know how to interact with the people or others. Proper etiquette helps you make a great first impression and stand out in a competitive with others. From point of communication science, etiquettes have meta comommunical function in communication process. In this process etiquettes are verbally have a meaning dealt with what you say and how you say it and nonverbally Etiquette has a handshake, posture, eye contact, facial expressions meaning, In other words  etiquette is defined as the forms, manners, and ceremonies established by convention as acceptable or required in social relations, in a profession or in official life. The importance of etiquette is to learn displaying a knowledge of proper etiquette helps make a wonderful first impression, whether in a business or personal setting. Also, having good manners makes you more confident of yourself in situations that may otherwise be more difficult to relax in. Of the most important and functional and critical forms of etiquette is that of communication. How, when, where, for what reasons and the identity of those with whom one interacts all play a significant part in which practices one uses through communication. Of course, one should always be polite. This rule is universal and absolute (probably one of the few 'absolutes' there is in the business or any other type of social interaction). Being a polite means that you care about servicing and behaving, not to mention looking professional, to the other person involved in the transaction. Politeness is the true sign of a civilized mind. This makes others feel comfortable and even draws their interest into the venture and maintains it throughout the duration of the said transaction. It also reflects respect for that other person. Without a doubt, politeness and respect are indeed most important and non-disputable. These are both virtual laws to be obeyed by everyone at all times! Another aspect of good etiquette involved in online communication is promptness. Constant and forthright recognition and response shows a respect for the other person's time. Yes, busy schedules sometimes make it difficult to get back to others right away. This is why proper pacing is essential in public relations of all kinds, whether involving shoppers, potential clients who would provide sponsorship, colleagues, executive personnel or those in the legal field. All of these deserve timely responses. A term of three business days is the acceptable amount of time in which to reply to anyone. In the end, communication etiquette is critical for everyone to know and practice. It could mean the difference between failure and success. (http://www.thefreelibrary.com/What+Is+Etiquette+for+Online+Business+Communication%3F-a01073799161, retrievd on April 8, 2009). There can be no doubt that most educators are focused on helping students learn and gain more knowledge about specific subject areas or skill areas. What is not always clear is how knowledge is developed in the sense that it becomes part of the specific and "useable" knowledge of the student rather than the general knowledge of multiple persons in a specific field of study or expertise. Students must not only understand what they hear, read, experience, or do in a class but must also incorporate that into their own structures of knowing so that it is recalled and applied in relevant situations. The Wiki tool can help facilitate this development process in several ways: Knowledge is not a distinct or quantifiable body of content; knowledge is information that has become understood and applied in some sort of meaningful context so that it can be "known" by the student. We often test information recall in our courses but we do not always evaluate knowledge development. The Wiki can help in this process of moving information towards useable knowledge. The most well-known wiki is Wikipedia, the online user-created encyclopedia. Wikipedia reflects the philosophy that a community of site contributors and users will collectively ensure site accuracy. Instructional uses of wikis provide a benefit for the educational environment as a collaborative tool that wikis allow students to group author projects and papers, allow students to peer edited and review documents, and promote proofing skills with close reading, tracking, and revisions of drafts. As a participation tool wikis are an inexpensive collaboration and communication tool that promotes participation between students and students and the instructor. When using a Wiki in an instructional setting, the context is essentially dynamic and moving. That is, the actual purpose of a Wiki is not to simply communicate information, but to invite participation at the level of input that will contribute to the understanding and application of the information shared. This can happen in a document or media project via a Wiki or a series of contributed knowledge "items" that can be collectively producing new knowledge. The Wiki, then, can "move" student work towards a collective goal (Reynard, 2009). Kate Hand is indicated her opinion for using photograph in her article which is titled as “A picture or a 1000 words?” and published in Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education. She motioned that she had still have the perception that this isn’t the most creative or effective way to marry social interaction with technology. It seems to be the easiest, fastest way to solve the problem and that, in itself sends an alarm to look into this further. There are many other ways that learners can get to know each other online. Online courses naturally involve a lot of emailing where these types of personality clues appear, usually in a group discussion area or chat session, where all participants can read and respond to messages from the instructor and the other ‘classmates’. However, etiquettes emoticons and textual clues only go so far to demonstrate a personality behind the words. Online learning has prompted an array of learning practices and techniques that have been transposed on to the Web. These techniques are now mixing more and more with multimedia such as video, sound and graphic enhancements. With the development of online courses, seminars, and virtual universities, moderators and trainers are now trying to make the experience more personable, so that we don’t all become anti-social extensions of the personal computer. Especially in the area of online courses, instructors and developers are concerned with attrition (dropout) rates and how to compensate for the lack of face-to-face communication. As is natural with any new technology, there is a tendency to want all of the aspects of the former technology available in the new form, and the easiest way to do this is to apply an old standby to the new medium. As online courses become more prevalent and sophisticated, however, educators and learners alike are realizing that a good online course isn’t simply a good classroom course converted to HTML. A designer of such environments needs to add ‘human’ aspects to the technology and make participants comfortable with the medium. For those of us conversant with the etiquette of email, we have probably all used emoticons, such as:) and;-) to convey humor or sarcasm in our email messages. We use keyboard symbols to replace the gestures and facial expressions that would normally convey messages in a face-to-face discussion. In addition to these symbols, many of us use asterixed comments and gestures such as *giggle* and *wave* that come from MUD (MultiUser Dimension) games and of course, all those acronyms to save typing time (MHO=My Humble Opinion, BTW=By The Way etc.) all of which convey messages about our personalities, our level of computer/Internet knowledge and background. Although online learning offers a more direct mode of communication between the learner and the instructor than in many in-class situations, many students and educators feel that a deeper interaction is needed to feel part of a group dynamic online. One way to compensate for the lack of physical communication is to invite students to add a photograph of them to the course site. This is used by many educators as a convenient way to create camaraderie amongst the students, who can now put a face to the words of their peers. However, does this actually help the student learn, feel part of the class, and control the attrition rate? What value does a photograph add to online learning? (Hand, 2000) Textbooks make claims about how meta-communication betters relationships in various ways; however, research is not cited to uphold such claims. The high divorce rate in our country shows that a real world need exists for research on what leads to higher levels of relationship satisfaction and, therefore, keeps people together. Research on the relationship between meta-communication and relationship satisfaction in romantic relationships could help solve many research and societal problems. Therefore, since studies in the past have not examined the possible link between meta-communication and relationship satisfaction within romantic relationships, a relationship between the two concepts must be addressed and tested. Under the light of this limitation of past researches and the need to establish the existence of a relationship between meta-communication and relationship satisfying before inquiring further about the nature of their relationship. As an exploratory investigation of these hypotheses and also to explore the feasibility of instructional meta-communication, instructors in a team-taught graduate course in self-directed learning had students develop behavioral objectives for improved interpersonal communication, and elicited feedback about the effectiveness of their communication behavior after lecture-discussions. Student meta-communicative feedback was less threatening and more useful than anticipated. Seminars or workshops designed to provide experience and training for teachers in instructional meta-communication are suggested (Alexander, 1972). A Sociocultural Approach to a Brazilian Experience Celeste Azulay Kelman and Angela Uchoa Branco Abstract Inclusion of deaf children in regular classrooms is often described as unsuccessful. The present article shows how communicative and meta-communicative strategies used in teacher(s)-deaf students(s) interactions may facilitate inclusion. A fourth-grade classroom was investigated where a co-teaching approach -- a master teacher working with a teacher trained in Brazilian Sign Language (BSL)--was used. The class, 7 deaf and 19 hearing students, was selected because of the teacher dyad's effectiveness with these students. The teachers' interactive styles and strategies are highlighted, along with communicative and meta-communicative processes that occurred between them and the deaf students. The authors show that meanings are co-constructed not only through words or BSL but through nonverbal actions. Relational meta-communicative strategies make integration more effective and learning easier and more pleasant; therefore, dialogue with deaf children entails more than the mere use of words, either vocally or with signs. (Kelman & Branco, 2004) Janet Giler mentioned in her article which is titled as “Helping Kids with Learning Disabilities Understand the Language of Friendship” that while ships fail because they don’t know how to sustain them. Children with learning disabilities often end friendships because they have been unable to work out conflicts. While they may hear their friend’s words, they often don’t take the communication (e.g., joking and teasing) the way it was intended, often attributing negative intentions when they were not present. Because of their difficulty processing language, many children with learning disabilities children with learning disabilities may know how to initiate friendships; many of their relations are poor listeners. Whether it is because of their problems comprehending verbal and nonverbal communication, or because of their desire to make the information easier to grasp, they often put information into simple, “black and white” categories (e.g., good or bad). Instead of understanding manners, building rapport by checking (asking questions), or understanding that the person may have said something without really thinking of its impact and was unintentionally hurtful, unresolved misunderstandings can escalate into conflicts that can end friendships abruptly. (Giler, J. http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=575 retrieved April 28, 2009) Steven et. al. concern that other recent reports have noted that educational institutions, to survive, must change the way they do business. A report from the Pew Higher Education Roundtable stated, “More than ever, colleges and universities are being regarded — by students, legislators, and the public generally — as educational suppliers that should be willing to change in response to consumer demand. Those who approach higher Education institutions as ‘purchasers of a service’ now want a larger say in when, how, and where they get their education.” Institutions must provide education in a framework that meets students’ needs in terms of space and time. Distance learning (DL) is the means by which this goal will be achieved. The Internet may be accessed in a number of ways. So-called “freenets” offer access for free. Many academicians have access to the Net through their institutions. If they work from home, they may prefer to use commercial services such as America Online or Prodigy, CompuServe, e-World (Apple), GEnie. Starting with a commercial service may help reduce the Learning curve associated with using the Internet. Online services are gateways to the Internet, not part of the Internet itself. To use an online service, you must have a modem and you must subscribe. Most online services have their own educational services available only to subscribers. (Steven et. al, nd) Whereas in a traditional university classroom, important features of interpersonal relationships are most readily communicated by body language or tone of voice, in electronically-mediated teaching environments, absent such real time cues, even subtle meta-communications may take on added importance and power. Although a growing number of studies have examined explicit online communication, there is sparse literature relating to online meta-communication and its potential effect on the learning process. In the online environment, meta-communications may be conveyed by a correspondents choice of words, response time, choice of font size, use of computer icons, and, at a less conscious level, a variety of parapraxes. To date, measures used to analyze electronically medicated communications have been largely quantitative, such as tracking duration of communications and number of messages transmitted. The processes which are involved in using content analysis to identify and understand meta-communications are explored. Several hundred e-mail correspondences and a number of online graduate seminars were examined to exemplify the identification and analysis of meta-communicative processes. It is recommended that teachers and students reflect upon their meta-communications, so as to understand some of the subtle processes that can serve to maximize the quality of education in electronically mediated environments. (Hatcher, 2003) Focusing on educational ideas and enabling technology for knowledge-building discourse is very important. The conceptual bases of Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environments -CSILE- come from research on intentional learning, process aspects of expertise, and discourse in knowledge-building communities. These bases combine to support the following propositions: Schools need to be restructured as communities in which the construction of knowledge is supported as a collective goal, and the role of educational technology should be to replace classroom discourse patterns with those having more immediate and natural extensions to knowledge-building communities outside school walls. CSILE is described as a means for reframing classroom discourse to support knowledge building in ways extensible to out-of-school knowledge-advancing enterprises. Some of the most fundamental problems are logistic, and it is in solving these logistic problems that we see the greatest potential for educational technology. With new technologies, student-generated collages and reproductions appear more inventive and sophisticated -with impressive displays of sound, video, and typography- but from a cognitive perspective, it is not clear what if any knowledge content has been processed by the students. Knowledge building discourse is at the heart of the superior education that we have in mind. It is arguing that the learning environment needs to foster transformational thought, on the part of both students and teachers, and that the best way to do this is to replace classroom discourse patterns with those having more immediate and natural extensions to the real world, patterns whereby ideas are conceived, responded to, reframed, and set in historical context. The goal is to create communication systems in which the relations between what is said and what is written, between immediate and broader audiences, and between what is created in the here and now and archived are intimately related and natural extensions of school-based activities, much as these processes are intertwined and natural extensions of activities conducted in scholarly disciplines. The efforts to create an enabling technology have led to CSILE project of (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1991a; and Scardamalia & et al.), 1992 focus on the educational ideas for knowledge-building discourse- with some discussion, toward the end of this essay, on the technology. The ideas represented in CSILE come from three lines of research and thought: Intentional learning. The process of expertise. Schools are knowledge sharing entities. Restructuring schools as knowledge-building communities. The process of expertise is effortful and typically requires social support. By implication, the same is true of intentional learning. Most social environments do not provide such support. Adaptation to the environment involves learning, but the learning is asymptotic. In second-order environments, learning is not asymptotic because what one person does in adapting changes the environment so that others must readapt. More relevant examples in education are the sciences and other learned disciplines in which adaptation involves making contributions to collective knowledge. Because this very activity increases the collective knowledge, continued adaptation requires contributions beyond what is already known, thus producing non- asymptotic learning. The idea of schools as knowledge-building communities is the idea of making them into second-order environments on this model. How does one characterize knowledge-building discourse and then recreate classroom activity to support it? We could imitate at the surface level - for instance, by having classes produce scholarly journals with peer review. In fact, the CSILE implementation we describe later has provisions for doing that, but it is not likely that imitation of surface forms can produce the radical restructuring necessary to turn schools into real knowledge-building communities. The whole journal process could easily be degraded into just another form of schoolwork. That would happen if the essential point were lost, that publications should embody contributions to collective knowledge. (Scardamalia, & Bereiter, 1994) For the Multiple Knowledge Building Communities (MKBC), studies are indicate that highlights another important aspect about our perspective on interactive and digital media learning environments (IDM), namely the existence of three knowledge building communities within the online community - one with students, one with teachers and one with researchers. “The major focus of student knowledge building communities is on the building of mathematical subject-matter conceptual artifacts. The major focus of teacher knowledge building communities is on the building of pedagogical content knowledge artifacts. Researcher knowledge building communities focus on the building of both subject-matter and pedagogical content knowledge artifacts. We see teachers being immersed in all three knowledge-building communities— with their students to build mathematical conceptual artifacts to help understand their world, with other teachers to build conceptual artifacts such as models for teaching and 8 learning, and with educational researchers to understand research and reflection on teaching and learning”. Although most of the above support is not available at present in the online learning environments of the course management systems widely in use, they are potentially useful. For instance, metaphorical designs like the following could be used to guide learners in the virtual space: a “student lounge” for social activities, postings of social events, or personal information students would like to share with the class; a “virtual office” where students can have meetings with instructors; a “lecture hall” where students can listen and/or view content related information; and a “discussion forum” where students can annotate each other’s work and conduct intensive discussions on course contents. Such design efforts would make the navigation intuitive and transplantation of roles easy in the virtual environment. All of these notification systems would enable students to coordinate their efforts in completing large projects. To facilitate communication and knowledge construction, designers could build scaffold templates which instructors could later adopt to suit their needs in specific courses. Additionally, the capability of the system to simultaneously display artifacts and discussions would be beneficial to learners when the discussions are context-dependent. With improved designer support, more tools that address different aspects of online learning could be made available for instructors and learners to use in ways desirable for online collaboration and knowledge construction. Concerted efforts from designers, instructors, and learners could make computers function as “cognitive tools” in online learning environments.( Gao,et,al,, 2005). ELEMENTS OF COURSE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Important elements of a course development strategy are student characteristics, the knowledge topic and objectives, the content, the teaching and learning activities, and the course assessment. Clearly, Knowledge building and development for distance learning is a complex and challenging task. (Yousuf, & et. al., 2008) For each element, some guideline questions are required. Student characteristics Knowledge builder must have the information in respect of the target audience/population about student characteristics; .  Basic Data: Rural/urban division, sex, age, group employed or unemployed, their level of literacy. Life style: Student’s housing conditions, their working hours, financial position, mode of traveling, attitudes and their aspirations.  In the first phase, following guidelines questions about the target students are required such as: What is the students’ knowledge of the subject? Are the knowledge requirements clearly specified? Are the learning results defined? Does the knowledge match the requirements identified in the needs assessment? Do students have the necessary IT skills? Is regional and societal adaptation of the knowledge necessary and possible?   The educational backgrounds of students, and their skills, will vary from country to country and from society to society. The course developer will know very little about the subject-specific knowledge of the students, their skills in using technology, or their practical experience in the field of study. For example, some students will be familiar with using computers and the Internet while others might not have used these technologies before. Knowledge builder should expect learners to have some basic knowledge of the subject and some technology skills, because they are enrolled in a master’s program. However, the students’ skills in using the Internet or material on CDROM might be very limited, so support and help (e.g., how to install a plug-in, how to check a connection, and so on) will be necessary. Cultural background, which affects how students think, learn, and work, is another critical student characteristic.   Course topic and objectives Before a knowledge builder or writer converts course material into a format appropriate for distance learning, he or she must reflect on the course topic and objectives. Why? The topic of an existing training course might be relevant for a group of professionals in a single developing country, but not for a broad range of students in different countries. The topic and the contents must be general enough to enable adaptation to local circumstances in different countries. The knowledge objectives that are pursued, limited as they may be, tend to be made invisible to the students. The objectives are translated into tasks and activities. The students' attention, and often that of the teachers as well, is concentrated on the activities and not on the objectives that gave rise to them. (Scardamalia, & Bereiter, 1994) Yousuf, & et. al., emphasize that the objectives reflect the potential outcome of the training and will give students an idea of their learning opportunities. Following guidelines question are helpful in this regard:   Is the knowledge topic appropriate, relevant, and adapted for students in developing countries? Are there any controversial ethnic, religious, or cultural topics? Is the topic relevant to development aspect of the country? Can it be expected that local professors are familiar with the topic?    Knowledge content Scope for the exercise of expertise - for progressive problem solving, in other words - is generally available only to the teacher, and schooling provides no mechanisms (such as those that exist in trade apprenticeships) for the teacher's expertise to be passed on to the students. (Scardamalia, & Bereiter, 1994) Knowledge builder of a distance learning course must be aware of the differences in roles and delivery modes. Following guidelines questions are targeted and can convert for the knowledge builders which summarized by Yousuf, and his colleagues under this element:   What material is readily available for the various parts of the curriculum? What additional material is necessary for the various parts of the curriculum? Where can you get these materials? Does the course cover the right content and is the coverage extensive enough? Is the content up to date? Is any important content missing, which might be of importance for the target group? Is the structure of the content flexible? Can it be divided into logical smaller segments for conversion into digital learning material? Is the level of difficulty right for the learners? Will the content need to be adapted to local conditions? Will the course be required by the student? Will the course be accepted by students, and will they learn from it? How long will it take students to study the materials? (Yousuf, & et. al., 2008, p.126-129).   TEACHING/LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES In a teaching learning process, the importance of interaction cannot be over emphasized. According to Yousuf, and et. al.; it helps to achieve objectives particularly in the affective domain consisting of attitude formation, development of appreciation and interpersonal relations. Likewise, in the cognitive domain, higher level skills like problem solving and decision making can receive attention through interaction activities. With the help of activities, knowledge and skills that have already been learnt can be reviewed, clarified, corrected, reinforced and applied. Students can be asked through an activity to report on their projects and other experiences, which enable them to learn from each other as well as from the tutor of the study center. This can only be possible if the knowledge builder is able to design such activities and insert them at the proper place of the material. The knowledge builder must have the knowledge and experience of various forms of activities such as reviewing Experience, attitude Questions, finding Things Out, finding and using Information, role Play, preparing Written Information and problem solving and planning action: (Rashid, 1998). Generally, distance education course materials are made up of a number of course components or learning materials, which can include any of the following: teaching texts, study guides, course guides, readers or anthologies, assignments (with or without an accompanying tutor guide), television broadcasts or videotapes, radio broadcasts or audiotapes, software or online and electronic information and data, CD-ROMs, textbooks, and laboratory materials and, contact and phone with teacher etc. (Yousuf, & et. al., 2008, p.127-129). In addition, some learners support may be provided, either through personal communication at local universities or through online student tutors. Both the media used for distance learning and the student support arrangements affect the possible level of interaction in a distance learning course.    WRITING STYLES Distance Education materials not only have to convey information to the students, but also they have to structure and control the process by which this information is presented to and assimilated by the students. Such materials need to be designed with much more care than the texts of formal systems. There is a need to develop an effective writing style in distance education is particularly significant. In writing styles some factors are very important for writing the distance education material. These are given as under by Yousuf, & et. al.:   Format of distance education material Format refers to the general appearance of the page and of the document as a whole. The placement of unit on the page, such as the headings, margins and number of columns, features of type, such as double or single spacing, paragraph indentation and type style. In many cases, a good illustration can replace the text and communicate the desired information more quickly and effectively. Any time writer can use a phone, line drawing, chart, graph, or table.   Visual and learning material One of the main functions of any visual aid is to set in train the right kind and quantity of perceptions from which learning can take place. Now-a-days visual materials are being utilized to make the teaching more effective. As a matter of fact, it now appears obvious that properly designed visual material like pictures, photographs, maps, diagrams, graphs and symbols for distance education can be very useful for all open learners. Uses of pictures, use of comics, use of pictorial charts, diagrams in the text is very productive and creates stimulation in the students of open learning system (Yousuf, & et. al., 2008, p.129).   COURSE ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION Course assessment has a significant impact on learners and their progress. Assignments should be consistent with course content and objectives and be manageable in the time allocated, with the resources and technologies available to the learner. Assignment tasks should enable learners to pursue some of their own interests or apply their learning to a practical situation or their own context. Possible assignment types include the following: Regardless of the form of the assignment, feedback on a learner’s assignment is always necessary. A simple questionnaire following each assignment provides valuable feedback to the teacher. In response to multiple-choice questions, the feedback can be an automatic message from the learning system. For most of the other assignment forms, more specific feedback is necessary. The knowledge builder will provide guidelines, questions, and suggestions for course assignments, and the local facilitator will be responsible for course assessment and grading. The most effective form of planning occurs for the knowledge builders when there is meaningful dialogue among course coordinators and course writers who meet often in the initial stages. These frequent meetings must continue throughout the course development process by providing opportunities to discuss ways of enhancing student learning and solving problems as they arise.   In knowledge-building contexts, the focus is on problems rather than on categories of knowledge or on topics. Explaining is the major challenge, with encouragement to produce and advance theories through using them to explain increasingly diverse and seemingly contrary ideas. Engagement is at the level of how things work, underlying causes and principles, and interrelatedness of ideas explored over lengthy periods and returned to in new contexts. Decentralized open knowledge is building, with a focus on the collective knowledge. From the perspective of social interactions, there is an expectation of constructive response to one another's work. Inquiry on all sides is driven by questions and desire for understanding. Negotiating the terrain around ideas is marked by complex interactions with others, using purposeful and constructive ways: to engage busy people, to distribute work among members, to sustain increasingly advanced inquiry, to monitor advances of distant groups working in related areas, and to ensure the local group is indeed working at the forefront of their collective understanding. There is also a great deal of opportunistic work, often in small groups (as opposed to legislated schoolwork of the conventional kind in which students are working individually but all doing the same thing or are subdivided in some arbitrary fashion). In knowledge-building discourse more knowledgeable others do not stand outside the learning process (as teachers often do), but rather participate actively. Further, the knowledge of the most advanced participant does not circumscribe what is to be learned or investigated. There are other sources of information, and participants aim to point the way to other groups and resources that might prove helpful. Less knowledgeable participants in the discourse play an important role, pointing out what is difficult to understand and, in turn, inadequacies in explanations. To the extent that novices can be engaged in pushing the discourse toward definition and clarification, their role is as important as that of those more knowledgeable. In all, knowledge-building begets knowledge building: Important factors include the creation of a climate and desire to advance understanding rather than to display individual brilliance (although individual brilliance can certainly help in the collective effort) and opportunities more plentiful than restricted communities allow. (Scardamalia, & Bereiter, 1994) ANADOLU-OEF SYSTEM AND COURSE DEVELOPMENT ELEMENTS Anadolu University is the only university in Turkey, which offers distance education programs, commonly referred to as ‘open education’. Currently, the Faculties of Economics and Business Administration and the Open Education Faculty have more than 1 million students. The number of students who received BA or associate degrees from the distance education programs is over than one million. In open education, the core course materials are the textbooks that are designed according to self-study principles as teaching and learning is from a distance. Therefore, the textbooks are prepared with the utmost care. Experts in their fields, over one thousand scholars from various universities have authored and edited hundreds of textbooks. Approximately 5 million books are printed and distributed to students each year. TV programs are designed and prepared in parallel with the textbooks to support and reinforce students’ self-study endeavors. (See: http://www.anadolu.edu.tr/en/akademik/fakulteler.aspx) In recent years, information technology based learning has gained importance in the Open Education System as opposed to the traditional learning materials, which consisted of books, TV programs, and face-to-face tutorials. Thus, Computer Assisted Education Unit was established in 1989 to conduct research on education technology and to produce teaching materials. E-learning practices in the Open Education System were implemented in 1993 with the production of computer assisted teaching software. In 15 different cities around Turkey, computer laboratories furnished with computer assisted teaching software were established for the open education students’ use. The advantages that the developments in technology provide in education necessitated investment on e-learning services. Thus, a number of various learning models were designed and put into practice on the internet environment. The e-learning practices the Open Education Faculty has realized since 1999. The most important feature of Open Education Multi-media CD ROMs is the integration of Distance education materials such as books, TV programs, practice software, and practice exams that were distributed to students at different times and environments. CD ROMs, into which all the teaching tools (except for face-to-face tutorials) are integrated, are considered to be effective in the Learning process of students. The practice software services were first presented to students in the Open Education Computer Assisted Learning Laboratories in the 1990s, then in multi-media CD ROM format in the 2000s. The on-line courses offered to resident students utilize various learning and content management systems such as WebCT, Moodle, and Macromedia Breeze. E-learning services that are offered to open education students on the internet did not have a Standard structure as each was developed independently at a different time within a different project. Thus, because each of the e-learning service was designed differently, when a student wanted to use a number of e-learning services s/he needed to open a new session for each one. To provide easier access for the student, and to enable the systems manager to observe student activity, Open Education e-learning Portal (http://eogrenme.aof.edu.tr) was designed and implemented. This e-learning portal enables students to access all the e-learning services through only one login process. In the student database, there are over one million student records. The e-learning services which were delivered as separate services were renamed during the process of transfer to the e-learning Portal. “Practice Exams” became e-exams, “Practice Software” became e-practice, “Electronic Books” became e-books, and “Electronic TV” became e-television. As new e-learning services for open education students are developed, they are easily added to the elearning portal. E-tutorial and e-audio books are some services that were designed after the Open Education e-Learning Portal was implemented. e-book: The e-book project began in the 2003-2004 academic year with the distribution of the textbooks on the Internet. Initially, books were converted into a PDF files to be delivered on the Internet. Now, Flash Paper technology is used. With the implementation of e-book service, students are able to access the textbooks before the hardcopies are delivered. e-television: The delivering of the TV programs on the Internet, which began in the 2003-2004 academic year, is known as e-television in the open education e-learning portal. The purpose of this service is to provide students with the opportunity to watch the TV programs at their convenience by enabling students to save these TV programs on their personal computers. e-practice: Internet-based practice software, known as e-practice, has been a crucial component of Open Education e-learning Portal. The purpose of e-practice is to provide open education students with a more interactive thus productive learning environment. This practice software provides interactive multimedia presentations of the course material, which enables them to answer questions and test themselves. e-exam: In the Open Education System at Anadolu University, internet-based services began with practice exams in the 1999-2000 academic year. As the e-learning services expanded and incorporated under Open Education e-learning Portal, internet-based practice exams were renamed as e-exams. e-Facilitator: In the Open Education System at Anadolu University, face-to-face tutorials are held with the contributions of over 600 faculty members from more than 40 universities in Turkey. e-audio Book: In the open education system, there are a number of physically disabled students, some of whom are visually handicapped. In the case of visually handicapped students, family members need to read the textbooks to help those students study. To accommodate such students’ needs audio recorded books are being prepared. Thus, visually handicapped students will be provided with CD ROMs containing MP3 files. Not only visually handicapped students but also other students who are interested in audio textbooks can use this service. The audio textbooks are available on the Open Education elearning Portal. (Atac & Mutlu, 2006) CONLUSION AND RECOMENDATIONS In our planet, knowledge speedily gets older for the reason rapidly developing science and technology, for learners demands in competitive education arena. Especially, distance educators are need to re-construct soon and then send their educational messages by stimulating all learning points of its target by using these new knowledge and communication technologies based on meta-communication concept and knowledge building theory context beside ordinary course developers’. This not new formation but it should urgently apply to the knowledge building process for culturally and interculturally to meet learners’ demands. As is emphasized in the text, the mate-communication concept is very important, powerful and functional concept during knowledge building for preparation of the course materials in education field. In this meaning, concept is becoming more vitally item when mentioned message designing in distance and online education applications during knowledge building by distance educators. So that, distance and online institution administrators should be encourage their own course developers for to focusing on meta-communication concept and its functionality according to knowledge building theory criteria during building knowledge or re- messaging course materials process for their learners, and target’s characteristically profiles. Finally, the conceptual bases of CSILE stems from research in social sciences with specific emphasis collaborative discourse in knowledge building. The goal of CSILE is to create communication systems which archives any contribution made in the forum for future reference, revising and reflection. CSILE is grounded on the evidence from the collaborative model to foster inquiry, intellectual discourse and the social construction of knowledge. Its architecture was designed to perform powerful communal features capable of capturing the dynamic thought process involved in knowledge building whereby the powerful hypermedia features enable a space for the learners to make their contributions to the pool of knowledge. Today, Anadolu University, Turkey use mostly the latest technology for to support its learners at approximately around 100 different graduate, associate degree and certificate distance education programs. While at the beginning main course material was printed text books, now Anadolu University has to use high developed communication and information technology such as e-book, e-audio Book, e-television, e-practice, e-exam and e-Facilitator in its running. For this reason that Anadolu University course developers, knowledge builders, instructors and lectures should be aware and use function and role of meta-communication during their course materials producing or develop themselves or at least they should find out to get support from communication scientist on this manner in their material producing. In conclusion, any distance and open learning institution must discuss their educational course materials for re-building (at any level such as printed, audio, visual, electronic and verbal) from point of function of meta-communication and knowledge building theory perspective according to today’s developments and learners needs. 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