Reflective Summary

Reflective Summary by Phyllis Janine Kelley, Saturday, February 19, 2011
(a) Please describe an ideal virtual learning community based on the concept map generated last week from the class based on forum discussion and blogs:

The ideal virtual learning community based on the concept map developed includes the core concept of interaction and engagement. From there the core branches out into five concepts that included knowledge building, learning, change, community, growth. Each of these concepts had key components that were traced back to the core. Based on this and our readings, blogs and discussions of virtual learning communities, everyone seems to agree that an ideal virtual learning community needs to be interactive and engage the community. An underlying theme mentioned by class members was a need to feel accepted, welcomed and a part of the virtual learning community in order for it to be successful. This is evidenced by Haythornthwaite (2002) where she quotes (Granovetter, 1973, 1982; Marsden & Campbell, 1984; van der Poel, 1993; Walker, Wasserman & Wellman, 1994) related to CMC and learning communities saying “liberated from geography, community depends on creating and sustaining strong interpersonal ties, those based on multiple exchanges that include social and emotional content, intimacy, and self-disclosure” (p. 161). The need for interaction and engagement is further evidenced by Hunter (2002) where she reports that “a defining characteristic of a virtual community is this sense that a person or institution must be a contributor to the evolving knowledge base of the group and not just a recipient or consumer of the group’s services or knowledge base.” (p. 96) Based on this, I believe an ideal virtual learning community is one that includes all of these components and the description is as described above. See Dr. Ge’s Virtual Learning Community – Concept (shared document):
https://docs.google.com/a/ou.edu/drawings/edit?id=1f2GPR6jXHjKBSPVpYWnVuZnJo19TfoTTqseUIOR8IVU&hl=en

(b) Describe type of the virtual learning community (knowledge-based, task-based, practice-based, etc.) you would like to design and create: including the context, the subject matter, the target audience, etc. Use a concept map to represent your ideal model of a VLC.

The type of virtual learning community that I would love to see would be a combination of all three types of communities mentioned above, knowledge, task and practice. The context would be nursing education and the subject matter would be nursing concepts and skills with the target audience being baccalaureate nursing students. I believe in order for the VLC to be successful it would have to address knowledge, task and practice because in nursing education to teach it properly you need to base it on theory. Nursing currently uses behavioral and cognitive theory but if you added knowledge base and included experts you could potentially increase critical thinking from the novice to the expert and include constructivism. At the core my concept map would have the VLC which would be a baccalaureate level nursing program, the desired modules would include skills/task, practice and knowledge with outcomes being included. If a community could start out with the base of skills/knowledge using behavioral and cognitive exercises with online learning and then progress to online activities that include practice learning activities then the knowledge base would grow and become a key component in helping increase critical thinking and develop positive outcomes. The concept map might look like:

(Sorry, I couldn't get this to take my concept map).
but, it basically says:

VLC (Community Nsg. Ed - Baccalaureate Level) (core) then
Knowledge, Skills/Task, Practice, and Outcomes all connected



(a) Specifically describe the strategies you will use to build your virtual learning community, addressing the contextual factors, such as the needs, goals, purposes, interest, leadership, etc. (*Note: Please relate to the blogs and discussion assignments you have done in the past few weeks).

Based upon the readings and our discussions, the strategy I think would be most important is to construct a base and core concept that is interactive, engaging and flexible with the goal being knowledge enhancement and purpose being continuous learning. It would need to include leaders within the profession that are willing to contribute to the knowledge and interact with the novice learners and should include activities that allow the novice to progress to leadership roles when ready to contribute to the knowledge base. This is illustrated by discussion in week three of our course work between Melinda Stump and Sheryl Craig. Melinda responds “I believe that in order for maintaining or growth in a VLC, members need to feel like they are contributing to the other members and the other members and creators/owners are contributing information to them. A symbiotic relationship-everyone benefits.” It should also include an introduction that is welcoming and makes the new members feel like they are a part of something that will enhance their learning and that they will also be contributing to others increased learning. This is evidenced in Chapter One of our book Building Virtual Communities, Learning and Change in Cyberspace where it states, “The decline in the level of activity on MediaMOO coincides with a decline in the activity level of the community’s founder and lead administrator, Amy Bruckman. It is likely that the two are related.” (p. 30) Also, Fanderclai, an original member of MediaMoo, felt compelled to leave MediaMoo and states, “It was frustrating for people to learn all about MediaMoo only to find out they couldn’t bring their classes there.” (p. 25)

(b) Explain how each of the following: the literature (i.e., the textbooks), class discussions, and personal reflections (i.e. blogs), have helped you to frame your design ideas. In other words, how did the literature and the class activities help you to generate those ideas in (b)? Make sure you cite and refer to all the important, relevant literature in an appropriate format (i.e., citations and references)

The literature was very relevant in helping me to frame my design ideas as well as the class blogs, discussions and viewing, contributing to the concept map. Our book was very informative and explained the birth of the VLC as well as what contributed to the demise of MediaMOO. This historical information gave us the basic understanding of why MediaMOO was successful and then explained why it came to an end. The primary reason the MOO was successful was related to the personal attention and detail paid primarily to making sure that the community members felt welcomed and needed. This is evidenced in our book and discussions as iterated in question (c) above. This was accomplished through personal and direct interaction and engagement of each new member by the founder of Media MOO. The end of MediaMoo began to decline when the founder became too busy to remain engaged and interactive in the process and there were no built in safety nets to appoint others to assume the role. Lack of leadership to direct and facilitate learning became a factor. The blogs and discussions all reflected this understanding as well as our class concept map reflects interaction and engagement as the core concept for a successful VLC along with leadership and facilitation of knowledge. See Dr. Ge’s Virtual Learning Community – Concept (shared document). Further evidence of this can be found in Melinda K. Stumps blog for our class, Week 2 Reflections, dated Saturday, January 29, 2011, where she states, “What makes a VLC effective is that the leader and the members share the same mission and direction of the educational interests, values, communication, or connection building. They feel as if they are linked to something greater and have something worthwhile to contribute or receive from their association with the virtual learning communities.” Class member, Tanya Shamblin also asserts this point in her blog dated Sunday, January 30, 2011, where she states “The community must be tailored and continually adjusted to meet members’ needs. It is not simply to provide information. Interactive opportunities should be provided. Opportunities to apply knowledge gained and test what is learned should be available. Having a guide/moderator to assist learners in their time of need is also necessary to facilitate the learning process.” This emphasizes the importance of leadership necessary to facilitate learning.

From there, our book discussed various virtual learning communities along with their constructs and purpose and gave very good detail related to some of the successful designs. Our book also directed and encouraged us to view some of the virtual learning communities (as well as our syllabus/Dr. Ge) and afterwards our discussion and blogging focused on what we had learned when we visited the various sites. Some of us were more pleased than others with our experience and as our book indicates, it reflects some of the problems that arise with VLC when newcomers visiting sites aren’t sure whether or not they will benefit or learn from the site. This speaks to the knowledge aspect of the VLC and our blogs, discussions and concept map reflected this.

Granovetter, M.S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78, 1360-80.
(1982). The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited. In P. V. Marsden & N. Lin (Eds.), Social structure and network analysis (pp. 105-30). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Marsden, P.V., & Campbell, K.E. (1984). Measuring tie strength. Social Forces, 63, 482-501
MK Stump. (2011, January 29). Week 2 reflections [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://myjourneyintotechnology.blogspot.com/.
Renninger, K.A., Shumar, W. (Eds.) (2002).Learning in the virtual community depends upon changes in local communities. Building virtual communities, learning and change in cyberspace (pp. 96- 126). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Renninger, K.A., Shumar, W. (Eds.) (2002).Building social networks via computer networks. Building virtual communities, learning and change in cyberspace (pp. 159-190). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Renninger, K.A., Shumar, W. (Eds.) (2002). The mystery of the death of MediaMoo, seven years of evolution of an online community. Building virtual communities, learning and change in cyberspace (pp. 21-33). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Stump, M.K. (2011, February 4). Summary of wk 3 discussion& gr questions [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://learn.ou.edu/d2l/orgTools/ou-Home/ou-Home.asp?ou=1729174.
T Shamblin. (2011, January 30). Reflections on Week 1 [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://tanyastome.blogspot.com/.
Van der Poel, M. (1993). Personal networks: A rational-choice explanation of their size and composition. Lisse, Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.
Walker, J., Wasserman, S., & Wellman, B. (1994). Statistical models for social support networks. In S. Wasserman & J. Galaskiewicz (Eds.), Advances in social network analysis (pp. 53-78). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
X Ge. (2011, February 5). Virtual learning community – concept [Online forum – Shared Document]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/a/ou.edu/drawings/edit?id=1f2GPR6jXHjKBSPVpYWnVuZnJo19TfoTTqseUIOR8IVU&hl=en.
Walker, J., Wasserman, S., & Wellman, B. (1994). Statistical models for social support networks. In S. Wasserman & J. Galaskiewicz (Eds.), Advances in social network analysis (pp. 53-78). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
X Ge. (2011, February 5). Virtual learning community – concept [Online forum – Shared Document]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/a/ou.edu/drawings/edit?id=1f2GPR6jXHjKBSPVpYWnVuZnJo19TfoTTqseUIOR8IVU&hl=en.