Retrofitting theory to practice - a reflection on the development of an e-learning community

Rachel A Harris * and Jenny Niven ^

* Scottish Centre for Research into On-Line Learning and Assessment, University of Glasgow,
^ The Robert Gordon University

Contact: r.harris@udcf.gla.ac.uk

ABSTRACT

This paper relates to a project that worked to establish the Virtual Learning Space (VLS). The intent of the VLS is to provide a collaborative online environment where communities of interest can meet to share experience and understanding of Communication & Information Technology (C&IT) in relation to learning and teaching. The VLS is now an active collection of almost 1900 individuals who share experiences within an online or e-learning community. Having undertaken this development process, it is worth reflecting on how theory has moved forward to address the issues that have arisen during the project. This paper will therefore question what we mean by community, particularly in the online context. Illustrations from a growing e-learning community will link to the theory, and also trial its use for guiding future developments.

Keywords

Online community, Community of practice

INTRODUCTION

This paper relates to a project that worked to establish the Virtual Learning Space (VLS). The intent of the VLS is to provide a collaborative online environment where communities of interest can meet to share experience and understanding of C&IT in relation to learning and teaching. The philosophy underpinning the project was, and is, based on collaboration. The development of the VLS therefore included using focus groups, paper and email questionnaires, online discussion and brainstorming sessions. In other words, methodologies that aimed to engage the potential target audience in the project, as well as aligning the development of the environment with their particular needs.

The project has progressed such that initial implementation, evaluation and second stage implementation have been completed. The VLS is now an active collection of almost 1900 individuals who share experiences within an online or e-learning community. Having undertaken this development process, it is worth reflecting on how theory has moved forward to address the issues that have arisen during the project. The work of authors such as Wenger (1998) in relation to communities of practice, as well as more development oriented approaches that have considered how one might design and support communities online (Preece, 2000) are of particular interest.Ê

This paper will therefore start by questioning what we mean by community, particularly in the online context. A brief overview of two approaches to communities of practice and online communities will be contrasted. Illustrations from a growing e-learning community will then link to the theory, and use it to guide future developments.

What is community?

Traditional views

We need to explore and define what we mean by community in the online setting, before we can undertake properly grounded research into the effects or importance of communities for learning. Questions regarding community are far from new, with 18^th century authors such as Ferdinand Tšnnies describing the ideal of Gemeinschaft, or community, as ãsocial relationships based on locality and neighbourliness, fellowship, a sharing of responsibilities, and a furtherance of mutual good through understanding and the exercise of natural sentimentä (Slevin, 2000). It would seem useful to replicate what is good about these Îrealâ communities into any online learning community. This may provide an indicator of some of the likely characteristics, yet, the online setting clearly provides the potential to move away from definitions of community that are linked to geographical location. Indeed, there is something about online communities that relates more to Andersonâs (1991) concept of Îimagined communitiesâ where ãbelief in their presence is their only brick and mortarä.

Social networks

This still leaves the question of what is central to online communities. It could be interests or hobbies; groups who share resources, provide support and demonstrate reciprocity; but perhaps the most encompassing of definitions would focus simply on social networks of relationships. As Slevin (2000) suggests, it is the latter that we should concentrate on because ãmodern communication technologies such as the internet are opening up opportunities for new forms of human associationä.

Wellman and Gulia (1999) do focus on social networks, linking their findings in Îreal-lifeâ communities to those online. They pose questions regarding the nature of online relationships, whether they are specialized or broadly supportive, noting that people ãmaintain differentiated portfolios of ties to obtain a wide variety of resourcesä. These ties may be weak, as demonstrated by the fact that online people provide ãinformation, support, companionship, and a sense of belonging to persons they hardly know offline or who are total strangersä (Wellman and Gulia, 1999). However, the portfolio of ties means online social networks are a potential rich source of information and support. In the context of online learning communities, it may be desirable to encourage stronger ties to develop, as this is likely to increase motivation and therefore likelihood of inputting to the community. One example of how this is achieved in an informal setting, is where communities are set up to enable members to rate othersâ contributions, thereby playing on and enhancing the status of individuals, and potentially increasing motivation to contribute further.

There is a strong need to fully exploit the potential that online learning communities offer in terms of linking people into social networks that they would not have had access to previously.

Dimensions of practice as community

Wenger describes three dimensions of practice as community ö joint enterprise, mutual engagement and shared repertoire, see Figure 1. This paper will report on how these dimensions relate to the communities of practice within this particular learning community. Although the VLS is perhaps better described as an online space that incorporates many evolving communities of practice. Some of these are almost transient, perhaps because they focus on particular topics, and members move on as discussions draw to a close.Ê

Figure 1 ö Wengerâs view of dimensions of practice as the property of a community (Wenger, 1998, p73).

What about online community?

Preece (2000) focuses specifically on online communities or e-groups, and cites four key features ö shared purpose; people, who interact socially; policies, which guide peopleâs interactions; and computer systems, which should ãsupport social interaction and facilitate a sense of togethernessä. The first three relate directly to Wengerâs three dimensions, which is interesting as Preece refers to communities that might not consider themselves to be communities of practice. (See Figure 2 and compare with Figure 1.) Finally, the addition of computer systems means that communities can move online. This is essentially the whole reason for the existence of the VLS ö it provides a space where people can exchange experience that would not otherwise be possible.

Figure 2 ö Key features of an online community, with associated characteristics (Adapted from Preece, 2000)

A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE COMMUNITY?

According to Duggan (2001) , a strong or healthy online community enables members to gain access easily, has clear or intuitive navigation, with easy to find and use discussion facilities, and provides some reason to encourage members to return. This is one approach to identifying a successful community. The following will consider how the VLS might be reviewed for success.

As an initial evaluation, the VLS site hosted the OTiS e-workshop, in May 2000, as part of the OTiS project (http://otis.scotcit.ac.uk/). This workshop brought together over 100 experienced online tutors from around the world to share their experiences and reflect on their practice. The workshop itself was held entirely online; the delegates never met. The keynote presentations, case studies, discussions and online chats from the workshop produced a rich and detailed picture of how tutors have adapted and changed their roles to meet the challenge of the online environment. This also enabled participants to develop new skills and reflect on approaches to online tutoring used by their peers. Feedback from participants was used to improve the VLS site, which was re-launched in November 2000. Since the e-workshop, many participants from the workshop have returned to the VLS to take part in a programme of ongoing events.

This provides a broad and yet contained indicator of success for this particular community site, but for other sites, or over the long term, we could evaluate success in terms of membership, or accesses to the community. Slightly more involved measures could include indicators such as the volume of discussion or number of contributions per member. Yet, even these are very superficial indicators, as large numbers of contributions do not necessarily demonstrate value. This leads us to consider the quality or impact of contributing, or otherwise being a part of the community. In relation to online learning, we can refer back to learning theory and analyse interactions for example for evidence of collaboration or shared construction of knowledge (Chappel, McAteer and Harris, 2002; Curtis and Lawson, 2001).

Each of these routes, however, presents a fairly narrow focus for investigating the importance of community in online learning. This paper will now address the broader view by referring to Wengerâs (1998) theoretical description of communities of practice and paralleling this with Preeceâs (2000) practical overview of the key features of online communities. These will be used as a means of identifying to what extent the VLS could be considered to be an online community. Parallels could then be drawn during conference discussion of how this could be applied in more formal learning situations.

Evidence of online communities of practice

Using the dimensions of practice and key features of online community referred to above, Table 1 provides a brief analysis of how these are addressed in the VLS.

Table 1 ö Initial overview of how the VLS addresses the dimensions of practice and key features of an online community

Demonstrations from the VLS (http://itlearningspace-scot.ac.uk/) of the evidence described above will be given during the conference paper presentation.

APPLYING THE THEORY TO FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

An initial review with the theory, suggests that to be a true community of practice, the VLS needs to place more emphasis on joint enterprise. This brings in questions of negotiation and mutual accountability. The latter clearly relating to responsibility and ownership within the community. A sense of shared ownership will always be difficult to develop amongst a distributed community, but the most obvious start point would be to continue to involve the membership in the development of the community. This can then be enhanced through the other community features outlined in Table 1, but will need to be at the core of any effective online learning community.

REFERENCES

Anderson, B. (1991) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised Edition. London, Verso Books.

Chappel, H., McAteer, E., Harris, R.A. and Marsden, S. (2002) Fast coding of online learning behaviours using an Îelementsâ approach. Paper to be presented at Networked Learning, March 26th - 28^th, 2002. University of Sheffield.

Curtis, D.D., and Lawson, M.J. (2001). Exploring Collaborative Online Learning. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 5(1). Available online at: http://www.aln.org/alnweb/journal/Vol5_issue1/Curtis/curtis.htm Accessed 15/02/02.

Duggan, H. (2001). Measuring and Improving Community Health. Online Community Report. Available at: http://www.onlinecommunityreport.com/features/duggan/ Accessed 15/02/02.

Preece, J. (2000) Online Communities: Designing Usability, Supporting Sociability. Chichester, John Wiley and Sons. ISBN: 0471805998

Slevin, J. (2000) The internet and forms of human association. The Internet and Society. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Limited. pp:90-117.

Wellman, B., and Gulia, M. (1999) Virtual communities as communities. Communities in cyberspace. M.A. Smith, and P. Kollock (Eds). London, Routledge. pp:167-194.

Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice. Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN: 0521430178