Managing an

Online Generational Learning Community

Dr. Leon James
Professor of Psychology
University of Hawaii (Manoa)
(c)1997

Note:

This is a guest lecture presentation to the information science students of Dr. Diane Nahl given on November 12, 1997, University of Hawaii.

For related articles, please see here

First, I'd like to ask you to write out between 1 to 3 questions you have about online learning communities. I'll be reading them out loud and connecting the answers to the generational community.

Instructional Objectives I have

Some of the Instructional Tools I use

PHASE 1: IDENITFYING

1. The generations.html file (identifying with and becoming integrated in an online community -- cf. cyber-socialization techniques needed)

2. The newsgroups.html or chatrooms.html file -- helping them to adopt a lifelong online orientation or cyber-citizenship -- searching, lurking, posting, thread analysis

PHASE 2: MODELING

3. The discussions.html file -- methods for practicing critical thinking by joining the cyberspace college -- cf. methods for increasing email participation

4. The What Do the Generations Say portion of every Report and its links -- helping to create the cumulative evolution of ideas through hypertext -- cf. shaping or managing the evolution of generational culture

PHASE 3: EXERCISING LEADERSHIP

5. The Suggestions to Future Generations portion of every Report -- encouraging leadership skills by encouraging generational contributions and communicating generational values

6. The Data Collection portion of every Report -- modeling the sicentist-scholar-publisher role to encourage autonomous learning, collective uses, and objective standards

To view some recent instructions click below:

• Generation 7 Reports (409a: Fall 1997)
• Generation 7 Reports (409b: Fall 1997)
• Generation 7 Reports (459: Fall 1997)

To view some recent student reports click below:

• Generation 7 Reports (409a: Fall 1997)
• Generation 7 Reports (409b: Fall 1997)
• Generation 7 Reports (459: Fall 1997)
• Index of All Generations

To view some articles on the generational curriculum click below:

• Introductory Description
• Daily Round Archives
• History and Philosophy
• Method and Results

Selections:
What Others Write About Online Learning Communities

First Selection

THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY OF AN ONLINE CLASSROOM
Terri L. Johanson, EDD???Jan 24, 1996??Oregon State University
Chapter 3: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
found at this location

Computer mediation is the essence of CMC and it provides the capabilities which support the other attributes of CMC instruction discussed in this section. But most importantly it provides a level of control in instructional interactions that is unmatched in any other educational domain (Harasim, 1990). CMC interactions are "revisable, archivable, and retrievable" and they give the user an exceptional capability to "present, receive, process and manage information" (p. 51).

The process of CMC automatically creates a productÑan electronic transcript of all the interaction. This permanent record of the communication provides participants with unprecedented control over the way they participate in collaborative and discursive activities. They can sort, scan and/or ignore the contributions of the others in their group. They can take the time they need to formulate their responses and they never have to wait a turn or try to break into the interaction of the more assertive members of the group. The transcript also allows participants repetitive access and information retrieval. This attribute facilitates both retrospective analysis and critical review of the interaction (Harasim, 1990).

(...)

Expanding on the social presence theme researchers took up the idea of immediacy which has been defined as the "psychological distance which a communicator puts between himself or herself and the object of his/her communication" (Gunawardena, 1994 p. 3). Immediacy, sometimes termed intimacy, can be expressed in physical, verbal, or nonverbal ways, including physical proximity, high eye contact, smiling, forward body lean, formality, level of interactivity, and availability for interaction (Burgoon, Buller, Hale & deTurck, 1984; Gunawardena, 1994). Research shows that people compensate for the lack of physical intimacy in CMC by encoding verbal intimacy using such strategies as informal tone, typing phatic phrases such as I see, and using emoticons (combinations of punctuation marks used to represent smiles, frowns, winks, etc.) to express affective messages (Gunawardena, 1994; Walther, 1992). (See Appendix A)

It has been suggested that the lack of channels for social cues in CMC inhibits the ability of CMC participants to exhibit the necessary immediacy or social presence to achieve interpersonal relationships (Baym, 1995; Walther, 1990). But Walther (1990) counters that the research which has examined the interpersonal interactions of CMC groups has been flawed by using previously unacquainted communicants and short-lived groups. He suggests that CMC groups take longer to develop because of the cues filtered out environment, but that given time they employ compensatory techniques to establish social presence and immediacy and that they ultimately engage in group dynamics as intense and rich in relational communication as FtF groups (Walther, 1990; Walther, 1992; Walther, 1994).

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The picture of the interaction of CMC groups developed through the use of the profile analysis strategies can be expanded to another dimension through "message act analysis" (Levin et al., 1990 p. 200) which is used to explore the patterns of message function. Using this technique, Mehan (1978) identified the IRE sequence of teacher initiation, student response, and teacher evaluation as the typical message pattern in FtF classrooms. Using message act analysis, Levin et al., found both differences and similarities between Mehan's findings with FtF classes and CMC classes. In Mehan's FtF study, almost all the initiations and evaluations were by the teacher and only replies were by students. Levin et al., found the initiation, evaluation, and reply type messages were more evenly distributed among teachers and students in CMC. They found only a few instances of the standard IRE sequence, but the analysis did reveal two other patterns: a star pattern where the messages are a series of replies to a single initiation and the thread pattern where the messages are more linear in a chain of replies following a similar thread. Also, the CMC messages were more complex than the FtF interactions and they were less dominated by the instructor (Levin et al., 1990).

(...)

CMC and Community

In contrast with social presence theory but aligning with Walther's (1990) relational communication hypotheses, the idea that CMC participants form virtual communities is a consistent thread throughout CMC literature. There is a timeless interest in the concept of community and references to it are found in scholarly literature, in the classics, and in the popular press. Aristotle said in Politics, "a community begins in the union of those who need each other for survival . . . and a common work that binds them together" (in (Johnson, 1992, p.7). The popular writer Howard Rheingold (1994) thinks the virtual communities in public CMC networks arise out of peopleŒs need to replace disintegrating traditional communities. He describes CMC communities as "cultural aggregations that emerge from the net [Internet] when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace" (p. 5). Nancy Baym (1995), a researcher who studies public CMC groups, says people "appropriate the possibilities offered by commonality and individuality in ways that weave them into distinct communities" (p. 161).

Definitions

The word community is used in so many contexts that its definition can be a problem. It comes from the Latin communis Ñ com meaning together and munis meaning bound Ñ and is often used to describe people collected in one place (Little & Sanders, 1989). It is generally agreed, however, that a community is more than just the co-location of a group of people. It is a group of people with similar interests and is characterized by the ways that the group interacts, shares, participates, and experiences fellowship (Costello, 1993).

Wendell Berry (1992) addresses community as a social organizer. Even though his perspective on community is strongly place-bound, his thoughts about how a community functions are useful in the study of a virtual community. He says that a community is identified by mutual interests and operates by "the common virtues of trust, goodwill, forbearance, self-restraint, compassion, and forgiveness" (p. 120). He adds that a community is only made through the loyalty and affection of its members and that it holds the power to influence the behavior of its members not through coercion but through a shared knowledge of what works and what does not work in the community itself. In educational CMC literature, the term community is generally used to describe a sense of group identity, which reduces social isolation, encourages interactive mental engagement, and provides a social context for conversation and dialogue (Grabowski, Pusch & Pusch, 1990; Harasim, 1987). The potential for CMC to provide an environment where participants develop a sense of community may be the primary element which makes CMC an educational domain able to support, even engender, learning.

(...)

Communication plays an important role in the development of a sense of community. A sense of community is seen to be a consequence of communication as it occurs within the contextual conditions of the communication (Comstock, Chaffee, Katzman, McCombs &Roberts, 1978). The effort one exerts to get and process information within and/or about the group is seen to lead to an attachment to the group (Regis, 1988). Quarterman (1993) describes a sort of evolution in CMC relationships from resource sharing through communication toward community.

The Freeman and Freeman study (as cited in Hiltz, 1984, p. 176) of scientists connected to a CMC network revealed that friendships developed online over time. By the end of seven months of interaction, all the participants reported that each was either a friend of the others or the friend-of-a-friend. The participants also reported that these friendships were valuable when they needed help or information from their online colleagues. With the passage of months, the network changed from having a clique structure of small groups of friends to being a genuine community.

It is evident that the development of a sense of community takes place over time in any environment and that in CMC it may take more time than in FtF situations. This time element may be important to instructional designers of CMC classes because it seems clear that the community capacity of the CMC environment is important to its implementation as a delivery medium for instruction.

Summary

The literature reveals that CMC is a medium that provides a new domain for instruction (Harasim, 1989). However, the research about this new domain has not provided a thorough investigation of the teaching and learning experiences of participants in the virtual classrooms of CMC instruction. The research has been aimed primarily at comparing CMC and/or CMC instruction with the assumed benchmark of FtF communication and/or instruction.

Little research is available about the activity and communication patterns, the relationships and interactions of the learners (the instructor and the students), or how these things impact learning in virtual CMC classroom environments. The research is lacking in three specific areas. First, there is a gap in the research about the actions and interactions of students and instructors in CMC classes. Such research is needed to describe what actually happens in CMC classes so that the information can be used to help instructional designers and CMC instructors to plan and deliver CMC instruction.

Secondly, researchers have not explored the possible connections between the CMC environment and learning. Since various researchers have theorized that the act of writing, the social construction of knowledge through community and collaboration, and personal pacing and control may contribute to learning (and, all of these are cited as common elements of CMC instruction), it may be that CMC actually provides an environment that engenders learning. The research has shown that participants in CMC classes achieve results that are equal or superior to students in FtF classes. Now research is needed to examine the reasons for such achievement and the possible relationship between the CMC environment and learning.

The third area where research is lacking is in the examination of the affective dimensions of the CMC classroom that involve how participants relate and interact to form communities. The capacity of the CMC environment to support and even nurture a sense of community among the people who meet in its virtual places is well accepted (Baym, 1995; Harasim, 1987; Rheingold, 1994; Rheingold, 1995). The idea that learning is a social activity and that it occurs both interactively and collaboratively among communities of learners is also well accepted (Bruffee, 1984; Davie, 1988; Davie & Wells, 1991; Harasim, 1989; Harasim, 1990). The connections between the development of community and the interactive and collaborative elements of the CMC instructional environment seem obvious. What is not clear from the current research, is what actions or interactions occur or should occur in virtual CMC classes to realize the potential of the environment for community and learning?

Second selection

From: Interpersonal Computing andTechnology: An Electronic Journal for the 21st Century, (ISSN: 1064-4326), October, 1994, Volume 2, Number 4, pp. 37-52.

article found here

This article is archived as GRESHAM IPCTV2N4 on LISTSERV@GUVM

FROM INVISIBLE COLLEGE TO CYBERSPACE COLLEGE:
COMPUTER CONFERENCING AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF INFORMAL SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

John L. Gresham, Jr.

Scholarly communication is in the midst of a technological revolution. Much has been published regarding the changes in the formal scholarly communications network that will follow the shift from print to electronic journals (Robison, 1993). Less consideration has been given to the transformation of informal scholarly communications networks through computer mediated communication.

(...)

The transformation of informal scholarly communications has already begun and academia is in the initial stages of a shift from the invisible college to the cyberspace college as a new form of the informal research network.

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The importance of informal networks to the growth and dissemination of scientific knowledge was noted by Price (1961, cited in Cronin, 1982) who coined the term, "invisible colleges" to describe these informal communities of scientific specialists. Since Price, informal collaboration and communication within invisible colleges is commonly viewed as an essential prequel to the formal publication and dissemination of advances in scientific knowledge.

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While these informal networks vary in structure across various research areas, they share the common functions of facilitating group identity and purpose within a research specialization and keeping participants abreast of current trends and new developments within their area of specialized interest.

These informal communication networks provide a forum for the sharing and testing of new ideas through feedback and discussion. Inter-disciplinary exchange of ideas emerges along the peripheries of inter-connecting invisible colleges.

(...)

Cronin notes the following advantages of the invisible college in contrast to the more formal channels of scholarly communication: currency of information; specialization of information; opportunity for feedback and input at formative stages of idea development; and potential for interdisciplinary transmission of ideas.

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Hiltz and Turoff (1993) suggest that electronic networks might lead to a more open form of invisible colleges with wider participation and faster exchange of information leading to more rapid paradigm development within specialties, greater interdisciplinary communication between specialties, and an expanded rate of research breakthroughs.

(...)

The emergence of new electronic or cyberspace colleges can be traced through a review of the nature and history of computer conferencing and description of the current uses of computer conferencing in academic communication.

Introduction to Computer Conferencing

Electronic conferences are known by many names and no consistent nomenclature has yet emerged. The following names for this form of communication have appeared: electronic conferences, e-conferences, computer conferences, mailing lists, lists, listservs, electronic forums, online discussion groups, scholarly discussion groups, special interest groups, news groups, and netgroups. Harnad (1993) creatively describes this new form of academic communication as "scholarly skywriting." All of these terms describe the special use of computer mediated communication or email for group communication.

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Scholarly electronic conferences have been compared to: a library where one goes to gather information, read, and think; a seminar, conference or salon where one informally debates ideas with colleagues; a room of people or dinner party with several interesting conversations going on at once; and a newspaper (especially the editorials and opinion columns) where one simply subscribes and reads the exchange of ideas without participating in the discussion (called "lurking" on computer conferences) (Berge & Collins, 1993b).

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Graduate students, who might otherwise find it very difficult to break into the old style invisible colleges note the ease by which they gain access to a variety of scholarly experts in their area of study with whom they may discuss their dissertation research.

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Of equal importance, the elitism of the old scholarly networks will be overcome. Electronic conferences tend to be interesting and illuminating mixes of teachers and students, academics and non- academics, graduates and undergraduates, theoreticians and practitioners with all having equal access to contribute to and learn from the ongoing conversations. For those with access to the electronic networks, entrance into these scholarly discussion groups comes quite easy. (Hopefully, access to the networks will become more and more universal as well.). More resistant barriers of race and gender prejudice which had the potential of forming invisible colleges along the lines of "old boys networks" are overcome through the text based medium of communication. Communicating textually, postings are more easily judged by their content than the by the physical characteristics or appearance of the poster (Rheingold, 1993).

The textual record leads to certain other improvements over the old style invisible college, as well. The elusive and ephemeral nature of information in verbal networks is overcome because computer conferencing creates a written and searchable record of previous information exchanges. While the problems of information overload and irrelevant information which hampered the usefulness of the invisible college will remain and may be intensified in the cyberspace college, the format of the information as electronic text allows for alleviation of the problem through the use of technology to store, organize, search and retrieve needed information. Thus, many of the weaknesses of the invisible college such as limitations of size, geography, and access, social barriers to access, and problems in managing the flow of information will be overcome by computer mediated communication.

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Computer conferencing represents a further step toward recovering the interactivity of face-to-face communication while maintaining the gains in permanency afforded by textual communication. Harnad (1993) ranks this new communications medium as the fourth major revolution in the history of communication following the beginning of human speech, the development of writing, and the invention of the printing press. He emphasizes that each of these revolutions has impacted both the processes and contents of human thought and this latest revolution will have similar far reaching impacts. The invisible college, as it moves into cyberspace via computer mediated communication, will not remain unchanged.

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According to Sproull and Kiesler, (1991) computer conferencing actually enhances such information exchanges. Noting the high rate of response to queries broadcast over computer networks despite the absence of personal contact, Sproull and Kiesler suggest that the ease of responding to information requests in a computer conference fosters a form of "electronic altruism" which stimulates the free exchange of information in this environment.

In a discussion of online education, Harasim (1990) has outlined several more aspects of computer conferencing which suggest the potential for this medium to enhance intellectual collaboration. The textual basis of computer conferencing fosters the reflective and analytical cognitive skills associated with the task of expressing ideas in written form. The asynchronous flow of information encourages fuller group participation by giving all participants opportunity to add to the conversation at their own pace. The opportunity for feedback and ongoing discussion makes computer conferencing an ideal active learning tool.

Harasim finds computer conferencing especially effective in the area of idea generation. Harasim's focus is on the use of computer conferencing as an educational tool utilized by teacher and students, but her comments are quite relevant to the use of this medium for collaborative research among scholars. As was noted above, research on the invisible colleges suggested that a chief value of the informal scholarly networks for the expansion of knowledge consisted in the generation of new ideas, precisely the area of intellectual activity Harasim finds most augmented by computer conferencing. Thus, we find a convergence of form and function as the cyberspace college uses computer conferencing to generate and explore new ideas through collaboration and free exchange of information. Due to the unique features of computer conferencing, the role of the informal scholarly communication network in the expansion of knowledge should be enhanced by the shift from invisible college to cyberspace college.

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The significance of cyberspace colleges is suggested by Rossman's claim that, "the primary importance of computer tools for the electronic university lies not in machines that will think for scholars but in scholars using such tools to amplify 'collective intelligence,' bringing many minds together for more effective collaborative research" (1992, p.58). The cyberspace college represents such use of computer technology to expand and enhance the human element in research by facilitating larger and more effective networks of scholarly communication.

Third selection

This article by Linda Harasim is published by The Centre For Systems Science Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC Canada V5A 1S6 604-291-3455 Editor: Barry Shell shell@cs.sfu.ca

Shaping Cyberspace Into Human Space

The Internet is not a highway. "The Internet is more like a community," says Linda Harasim. "Anyway, it's not a road going somewhere. That's why people are having trouble understanding it. It's a place." The first thing everyone types when they get connected is, "I'm here!"

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Nothing happens in "real time"; in other words, people read and contribute to discussions at different times. This asynchronicity means that all participants need not be involved at once. "Anytime, anyplace," says Harasim. "Online education is evaporating all the old boundaries, the things that kept people apart." Besides greater access, the new model encourages active rather than passive learning. It encourages group learning, too. Harasim believes that online education through computer networking is creating a paradigm shift in education.

"The old models came from 19th Century technology and they're based on transmission models," says Harasim, "One-to-many broadcast: the TV, the radio, the newspaper, the lecture! New computer networking technology requires and enables a whole new way of teaching and learning. For the first time in human history we can have many-to-many communication across time and across space. Never before have we been able to have group interaction that's time and place independent--the framework for a learning society."

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" ' Communicate' and 'community' have the same root, communicare, which means 'to share', " says Communcations professor Linda Harasim. "We naturally gravitate towards media that enable us to communicate and form communities because that, in fact, makes us more human."

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"You can't just open a computer conference and leave it like that for the whole school year," says Harasim. "That's like teaching in a barn." The teacher must shape computer space--access times and hard drive memory--as well as people space--learning partners, plenary groups and project teams. Harasim shapes for purpose, place and population. She likes to start a course with an online discussion and debate. Next she organizes several weeks of activities involving learning pairs and small groups. If possible she holds a full group face-to-face meeting at the beginning or end of the term. (See Tips for Creating Virtual Learning Spaces.-- (From Learning Networks: A Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online by L. Harasim, R. Hiltz, L. Teles, and M. Turoff, MIT Press, 1994.)

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In designing VIEW Harasim and her partners have looked far beyond the classroom. The virtual university doesn't have to be a university. It's designed as a general tool for shaping any kind of online interactive space; for humanizing cyberspace. Education is just one way to use it. Others may employ the same software to create other "places": virtual salesrooms, boardrooms, clubs or even churches.

Harasim is a pioneer on the electronic frontier. "As we settle this place we have to socialize it and civilize it," she says. "You humanize a place by creating livable spaces that are accessible, comfortable and offer something people want; a place for shared experience, a community."

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Sample 4

A Conversation with Crawford Kilian
by John O'Neil
Found here
Crawford Kilian is a novelist and Instructor at Capilano College in North Vancouver, British Columbia. (e-mail: ckilian@hubcap.mlnet.com).

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Question: You're one of a small group of people who have taught courses online. How do these work?

In an online course, students and teacher work at home or in the office using computers linked by phone lines. Online courses can reach anyone with a computer, a modem, and the right software, so they're attractive to people who can't take a course because it's too far away or scheduled at the wrong time. Students can go online on Friday night, Sunday morning, whenever. You can put your textbook and course handouts online and let students print them out.

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