I too am interested in this discussion. I started doing online classes before there was any theoretical framework at all. We early adopters had to think through our practice as we improvised it. One framework I was acquainted with that I quickly rejected was the distinction between process and content. This framework was associated with the idea that you could give students readings or videos from famous people and then have "process facilitators" handle the interactions. It quickly became clear that conferences without leadership often failed and that leadership by someone who had no subject matter expertise was not appropriate in education. Yet the process/content framework is still an almost instinctual reaction to educational technology. I wonder if the COI model carries on this unfortunate tradition with its distinction between the social side and the cognitive side. Maybe that was not the intention of the creators of the model, but isn't that how it is mostly understood?