Rhizomatic Learning in Action: A Virtual Exposition for Demonstrating Learning Rhizomes

Abstract

In this paper, we developed a virtual exposition as a model to visualize and demonstrate the dynamic and non-linear affordances of a learning rhizome. Virtual expositions are non-linear multimodal web installations that facilitate the creation of interconnections through which the research as practice and the practice as research are highlighted and communicated more effectively. Through a specific virtual exposition platform, we created a visual and performative representation of a rhizomatic learning course, allowing visitors to experience the complexity, multiplicity, unpredictability, and multivoicedness of such an approach in an isomorphic way. A complex learning rhizome is a performative confluence of human and non-human actors that engages people, resources, processes, and contextual parameters. As such, it is impossible to be represented in any representational format. The virtual exposition developed here attempts to offer a fair approximative model of rhizomatic learning which is far better than text-only linear representations. This paper offers a new view to rhizomatic learning as an applied practice that can enhance teaching and catalyze learning through complex synergies and dynamics. The originality of this paper lies in its attempt to bridge linear with non-linear academic research formats in order to offer a multimodal and performative model of rhizomatic learning. Theoretical and practical implications for learning and teaching are discussed.