Stephen Downes

Online Social Networks as Formal Learning Environments: Learner Experiences and Activities
George Veletsianos and Cesar C. Navarrete, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, February 1, 2012.

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This article presents "a case study of learners’ perspectives and experiences in an online course taught using the Elgg online social network." We haven't heard a lot about Elgg recently but it remains an important model for online learning. One weakness of the case study is that it takes place in a traditional institution. "Results also indicate that students limited their participation to course-related and graded activities, exhibiting little use of social networking and sharing." Then again, this might just be a feature of the (very) small group studied. I think the discussion of Elgg is valuable, but would place the case study as just one out of (we would hope) many data points. (Hits Today: 1 Total: 720) [Direct Link] [Tags: Traditional and Online Courses, Networks, Experience, Online Learning]

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Comments

Re: Online Social Networks as Formal Learning Environments: Learner Experiences and Activities

George Veletsianos, February 5, 2012

Thank you, Stephen, for the comment on our paper. I may be misunderstanding part of the comment, but I wouldn't say that the fact that this study took place at a traditional institution is a "weakness." That was actually part of the reason why we did the study, as the majority of the work that we have seen focuses on the use of these technologies outside of the institution, and individuals tend to think that findings will easily transfer to institutional settings. If you mean that the results were influenced by the fact that the course occurred in a traditional institution or that the institutional setting influenced how the technology was used, you are absolutely correct, and that's an implication of the study. Finally, I agree with you in that this is just one case study of the use of Elgg and online social networks in an institutional setting. A collection of case studies can help us make sense of this phenomenon, and these are slowly appearing (e.g., in our paper we cite Arnold & Paulus (2010), Brady et al. (2010), Dron & Anderson (2009b)).

Thanks!

P.S. I've re-posted your comment and posted this response on my own site as well: http://www.veletsianos.com/2012/02/05/online-social-networks-as-formal-learning-environments/ [Comment] [Permalink] [Previous][Next]

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