Deleuze's secret dualism? competing accounts of the relationship between the virtual and the actual

There are competing accounts of the precise way in which the virtual and the actual are related in the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze. As his philosophy gains a more
widespread readership, especially in a diverse range of disciplines, it is important to review differing interpretations put forward as to the precise meanings of Deleuze’s key concepts. Much interdisciplinary work that incorporates Deleuze’s philosophy does so by using the concept of the virtual, usually by offering different accounts of this very important concept. To confound this many readers of Deleuze present differing ‘standard’ definitions, as we will see. As such there is a lack of clarity within the wider academic community and within Deleuze scholarship that stems from a divergence of opinion at best, or an unfortunate misreading at worst. In light of the current landscape this paper will both investigate this lack of consensus, and more importantly, provide a more precise reading of the relationship between the virtual and the actual as presented by Deleuze in Difference and Repetition (1994). Through a close reading of the fourth and fifth chapters we will be able to account for the movement of virtual Ideas to their actualised form, as well as to describe the precise relationship between actualisation and the process of individuation. Ultimately we will find that intensity holds the key to uncovering the precise relationship between the virtual and the actual as the domain though which objects are both actualised and individuated.

A fundamental rethink of practice learning in social work education

A common response to the need to place increasing numbers of social work students in field education or practice learning placements has been to broaden the range of organisations in which placements are sought. While this strategy has provided many beneficial learning opportunities for students, it has not been sufficient in tackling ongoing difficulties in locating work-integrated learning opportunities for social work students. We argue that new approaches to finding placement opportunities will require a fundamental rethink as to how student placements are understood. This paper introduces an innovative project which started with a consideration of learning opportunities and built a structure to facilitate these, rather than rely on organisational availability to host students on placements.

Assessing students’ experiences in a virtual learning environment

CONTEXTTechnology has played an important role in the provision of educational equity for learners inAustralian communities. Engaging off-campus students through technology resources is vital for avirtual learning environment in engineering education. To ensure a positive experience for thestudents in off-campus (virtual) learning, the use of modern technology is crucial for collaborative andactive learning.PURPOSEDesign based education is a combination of project based and problem based approaches. Throughsmall or big projects, students work in teams with combinations of off-campus and on-campusstudents. Integration of technology resources takes place within these groups through collaborativelearning and active learning. Even though the facilities and technology support are provided for offcampusstudents, there is always a gap in fulfilling the off-campus students’ learning expectations in avirtual learning environment. Technology plays an important role in providing student engagement insolving design problems, which is a need for the distance learner community in future. The purpose ofthis study is to evaluate students’ experiences on the use of technology in learning and teaching,which is delivered in off-campus mode.APPROACHThe cohorts of students involved in this online survey are from first year undergraduate engineering inTrimester 2, 2016. The online survey analysis of students’ perceptions will help teaching staff to betterunderstand and assess off-campus students’ experiences, challenges and barriers in a virtual learningenvironment.RESULTSThe distance learners’ experiences are analysed from an online survey. This online survey analysesthe students’ experiences on use of technology and how it supports and enhances students learning indistance mode. It also analyses the student learning experiences on project/design-based learningapproach in engineering. In this particular unit (Electrical Systems), students work in teams of 2-3 onlab work and other assignments. The analysed results also discuss the students’ perceptions onteamwork, communication, interaction and assessment.CONCLUSIONSThe aim of the engineering curriculum is to provide learning and teaching support equally for both oncampusand off-campus students. From the analysed survey results, this study reveals that the use oftechnology plays a vital role in students learning from availability and accessibility of materials toassessment methods, lab tutorials, and online seminars. In a project/design based learningcurriculum, the distance learners have an equal opportunity to enhance the learning skills as the oncampusstudents experience in a study environment.