Constructing Community in Higher Education Regardless of Proximity

2015 ◽  
pp. 163-179
Author(s):  
Karina R. Clemmons ◽  
Amanda L. Nolen ◽  
Judith A. Hayn
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Online Social Networking ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Global World ◽  
Diverse Cultures

In an increasingly global world where students are increasingly mobile and not bound by the same rules of proximity as before (Beckmann, 2010; Healey, 2008), it becomes critically important to understand how learning can take place and how community can be built through virtual communities. This chapter reports the results of a study that investigated whether preservice and beginning teachers involved in the dialogue of an emergent online social networking community engage in meaningful educational and professionally enriching experiences. The researchers specifically examined how online social networking in teacher education programs addresses issues related to: (1) the isolation students feel while in the field; (2) the lack of community and dialogue among students; (3) the disconnectedness between classroom knowledge and field experiences; (4) the limited reflective practices observed among novice teachers; and (5) the need to appreciate multiple perspectives and diverse cultures.

Constructing Community in Higher Education Regardless of Proximity

2014 ◽  
pp. 713-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Clemmons ◽  
Amanda Nolen ◽  
Judith A. Hayn
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Online Social Networking ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Global World ◽  
Diverse Cultures

In an increasingly global world where students are increasingly mobile and not bound by the same rules of proximity as before (Beckmann, 2010; Healey, 2008), it becomes critically important to understand how learning can take place and how community can be built through virtual communities. This chapter reports the results of a study that investigated whether preservice and beginning teachers involved in the dialogue of an emergent online social networking community engage in meaningful educational and professionally enriching experiences. The researchers specifically examined how online social networking in teacher education programs addresses issues related to: (1) the isolation students feel while in the field; (2) the lack of community and dialogue among students; (3) the disconnectedness between classroom knowledge and field experiences; (4) the limited reflective practices observed among novice teachers; and (5) the need to appreciate multiple perspectives and diverse cultures.

A Framework for Knowledge Management in Higher Education Using Social Networking

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladlena Benson ◽  
Stephanie Morgan ◽  
Hemamali Tennakoon
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Social Networking ◽  
Student Life ◽  
Knowledge Resources ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Education Platform

Recent years show an increase in the popularity of online social networking among the younger generation that opens up possibilities for educators to use it as a higher education platform. The focus of this paper is to highlight some open research questions in the context of knowledge management in higher education with the use of online social networking. Analysis of current research reveals that social networking sites are a useful tool in teaching and learning as well as in employability and career management of students. However, research is limited in terms of the applicability of social networking sites in other parts of the student life cycle including lifelong learning. The possibility of using online social networking in knowledge management, particularly in the area of knowledge accumulation and knowledge sharing is yet to be properly addressed by researchers. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to draw attention to some implications of exploiting knowledge resources with online social networking for HE institutions.

scholarly journals An empirical study of lecturers’ appropriation of social technologies for higher education

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suraya Hamid ◽  
Jenny Waycott ◽  
Sherah Kurnia ◽  
Shanton Chang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Online Social Networking ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Teaching Activities ◽  
Social Technologies

<p>The use of Online Social Networking (OSN) educational activities has become commonplace in today’s higher education. OSN enables lecturers and students to generate and share content, interact, and collaborate in the knowledge construction process. The pedagogical benefits of social technologies have been widely discussed. However, less is known about the processes that lecturers follow when integrating social technologies into their teaching activities. With the aim of developing a practical guiding framework, this paper examines the processes that lecturers have followed when appropriating social technologies for learning purposes. Based on interviews with fourteen Australian lecturers and sixteen Malaysian lecturers who have used social technologies, different processes of appropriation are explored. Drawing on the empirical findings, this paper proposes a framework that can be used to guide lecturers in appropriating social technologies systematically. The framework will be beneficial for lecturers seeking guidance to support the appropriation of social technologies for structured and formal use in higher education.</p><br />

scholarly journals Using Academic Social Networks to Enhance the Student Experience in Online Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffani Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Online Higher Education ◽  
Affinity Groups ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Academic Social Networks

Online universities utilize academic social networks to build connections among students, faculty, and alumni through affinity groups. This study explored how students interact in academic social networks, who they collaborate with, why they use academic social networks, and how this influences their educational experience. This qualitative, interpretive, phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of six online higher education students reporting active participation in an academic social network. Three core themes emerged from data analysis: (a) acceptance and belonging; (b) self-validation; and (c) drawing from multiple perspectives describing how academic social networking communities are formed, why students are using them, and what this means to online higher education. The essence of academic social networking as it relates to self-actualization is discussed, with insights for educational leaders regarding the use of academic social networking and affinity groups in online higher education.

Using a Design Research Approach to Investigate the Knowledge-Building Implications of Online Social Networking and Other Web 2.0 Technologies in Higher Education Contexts

2013 ◽  
pp. 1752-1775
Author(s):  
Cameron Richards
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Online Social Networking ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Web 2.0 Technologies ◽  
Internet Users

Online social networking and related Web 2.0 technologies have taken the world of Internet users by storm in recent years. However beyond the use of blogs for reflective learning journals and University alumni pages on Facebook, there has generally been little integrated use of social networking tools in higher education. This chapter will explore how a design research approach may assist in not only recognizing but also developing the knowledge-building implications of a convergence between such tools and technologies on one hand, and also on the other constructivist approaches to related domains of learning, research and professional reflective practice in academic communities and contexts. The process of designing and developing an applied research problem and related central question or inquiry focus is approached in terms of two ‘design research’ proposals. One, it considers the idea that if a critical mass of both basic skills and actual usage could only be achieved by teachers, administrators and researchers then social networking has the potential to significantly and productively transform higher education. Two, it considers the idea that the key to achieving such a ‘critical mass’ in education contexts perhaps lies in designing meaningful contexts or purposes of interaction – that is, in linking the function of social networking to an appropriate design paradigm for using associated Web 2.0 tools. In this way the chapter will explore the requirements for a more effective harnessing of the exemplary possibilities of online social networking in higher education contexts.

The Roles of Social Networks and Communities in Open Education Programs

2011 ◽  
pp. 133-144
Author(s):  
Utpal M. Dholakia ◽  
Richard Baraniuk
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Open Education ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Chat Rooms ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Bulletin Boards ◽  
Networking Technologies ◽  
Teaching Learning

Open Education Programs provide a range of digitized educational resources freely to educators, students, and self-learners to use and reuse for teaching, learning, and research. In the current chapter the authors study how the educational experience for users and the effectiveness of these programs can be enhanced by incorporating new social networking technologies along with traditional virtual communities, such as bulletin boards and chat-rooms. An overview of open education programs is provided, discussing their common characteristics and participants’ motivations for joining and contributing to such programs. The authors also consider the roles played by collaboration processes in open education programs, examine how communities evolve on theses sites, their roles in making the programs sustainable, and what site organizers can do to enhance these processes. They conclude the chapter with a discussion of future trends and how social networking technologies will contribute to the next generation of open education programs. Throughout, their discussion is informed by our experiences and engagement with the Connexions project (www.cnx.org).

scholarly journals Nauczyciele etyki o swoich kwalifikacjach, kształceniu i doskonaleniu zawodowym

2018 ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Joanna Madalińska-Michalak
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Future Development ◽  
School System ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Teaching Ethics ◽  
National Program ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
School Subject ◽  
Formal Requirements

This paper considers teachers of ‘ethics’, which is a relatively new curriculum subject in school education in Poland. The paper focuses on the assessment of formal requirements for ethics teachers and on the evaluation of teacher education for teachers of ethics in Polish schools. The paper includes analysis of the perspectives of teachers of ethics concerning the future development of teacher education programs. The paper reports on a study of the place of ethics as a curriculum subject and on the practice of teaching ethics in schools in Poland.The study derives from a larger project completed between 2014-2016 and entitled ‘Ethics in the Systems of Education in Poland and Selected Western Countries (Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, France, USA, Norway, Finland)’. The project was implemented under the National Program for the Development of Humanities of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The project was conceived as a contribution to educational research and knowledge on the teaching of ethics in the school system and to the building of ethics as a school subject in the Polish school system.

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