摘要：互联网在经历了军事阶段、商业阶段之后，已开始迎来了它的文化阶段。本文通过讨论博客的起源、特征和分类，分析博客文化与现代教育技术的联系，介绍国外博客在教育技术中的应用情况，从而说明了博客作为互联网时代一种重要的文化现象， 它将影响我们的学习方式和教学模式。
关键词：网络文化 博客 教育技术 学习 教学
Abstracts: Internet has undergone military phase and commercial phase. Now it is entering its culture phase . This essay discusses the origin， feature and classification of blog. It analyses the connection between blog culture and modern educational technology and introduces how foreign people apply blog to educational technology. Thereby it illustrates that blog is an important culture phenomenon in the age of internet which will affect our studying method and teaching pattern.
Keyword: internet culture blog educational technology learning instruction
网络在教育中的应用不仅仅是教育技术手段现代化的标志，更重要的是让学生能更好地认识新事物、形成新观念、体验和接触现代技术和工具，由此我们的思维习惯、学习方式、教学模式等都会发生改变。
但是，当互联网正在变成信息海洋的时候，我们不得不面临另一场新的挑战，那就是如何将信息转化为知识。只有人们相互分享在信息海洋里获得的知识，互联网才会变得更有价值。作为继电子邮件、BBS和ICQ之后的另一种网络沟通工具，博客(blog)的出现，标志着互联网从传统的信息共享开始渐渐跨过"思想共享"的门坎，互联网真正开始凸现其无穷的知识价值。如果说，黑客文化代表了一种互联网技术野蛮的张力的话，而博客文化则代表了人们对重建互联网秩序的向往。互联网在经历了军事阶段、商业阶段之后，已开始迎来它的文化阶段。博客文化的兴起，与黑客文化与自由软件文化一样，已经成为互联网时代重要的文化现象， 这些文化现象必将影响我们的学习方式、教学模式、甚至是教育的理念。
一、博客（blog）的兴起
首先，我们要介绍一下什么是博客(blog)。
Blog（同义词有web log，weblog）的最普通的定义是：一种表达个人思想，内容按照时间顺序排列，并且不断更新的出版方式。Blog可以翻译成博客日志，但大多数人将它简化成博客。
随着网络出版、发表和张贴文章等网络活动的急速增长，博客已经成为了一个指称这种网络出版和发表文章的专有名词。博客通常是由简短且经常更新的张贴构成，这些张贴的文章都按照年份和日期排列。博客的内容和目的有很大的不同，从对其他网站的超级链接和评论，到有关公司的新闻或构想，或者是个人的日记、照片、诗歌、散文，甚至科幻小说的发表或张贴。许多博客是个人将自己的想法表达出来，或者是一群人根据某个特定主题或共同目标进行合作。撰写这些博客（Blog）的人就叫做Blogger或Blog writer，习惯上，我们也将它翻译成博客。博客这个词的中文含义，既可以表示主体的人（blogger），也可以表示行为的的本身或对象(blog)。它既是一个名词，也可以是一个动词。在本文中，为区别方便，在有些易混淆的地方我们用英语字母加以注释。
一般认为，博客起源于网上浏览者在网上发现了有趣的内容，互相用电子邮件等方式交流通报。这些信息经过有心人有意识的整合，就发展成了博客的雏形。纽约时报的大卫·格拉格这样描述博客的诞生：一些程序员尝试在网上推出超链接形式的日记，张贴他们自己的技术层面的思考心得与个人生活方面的休闲内容。当这种行为引起人们广泛关注后，他们为那些喜欢这种张贴方式但对技术一窍不通的人开发了博客网站的简便维护工具，由此，博客在非技术人员中也开始流行起来。随着博客人数的日益增多，他们的目的与初衷已相去甚远。目前的博客们（Blogger）发表和张贴的目的有很大的差异。由于博客的沟通方式灵活方便，它已成为家庭、公司、部门和团队之间越来越盛行的沟通工具，并且逐渐被应用到教育的实践领域中。
博客（Blogger）的出现，使人类网络生存方式开始向个人化的精确的目录式方式过渡。 博客是信息时代的知识管理者。他们的知识与思想不再是封闭的，就象自由软件运动贡献出的是程序的源代码一样，博客们在博客日志中贡献出的是他们思想的源代码。博客们将工作、生活和学习融为一体，通过博客日志，将日常的思想精华及时记录并发布，萃取并联接自己认为的最有价值、最相关、最有意思的信息与资源，使更多的知识工作者能够零距离、零壁垒地汲取这些知识和思想。
二、博客（blog）的种类
给博客进行分类是一件很困难的事，博客本身也处在一个成长的过程中。从形式上看，通常它不过是个人或小组利用相当便捷的免费维护软件运作的个人网站，网站中包含许多其它网站的链接。当然，富有个性的机智、幽默的简短评注是博客（blog）不可或缺的内容。一般来讲，我们可以将博客(blog)分成这样一些类型。
1.基本的博客。
基本的博客是博客（blog）中最简单的形式。单个的作者对于特定的话题提供相关的资源，发表简短的评论。这些话题几乎可以涉及人类的所有领域。美国许多名人例如美国NBC广播公司脱口秀主持人Al Roker和电视连续剧星际旅行中扮演船长的William Shatner利用他们的名声在他们自己的博客日志上有规律地发表随笔与感想，与他们的崇拜者分享他们的思想。
每天不同的人们都在发表他们的博客日志--大学生、老师、家庭主妇、商业顾问、运动员以及新闻记者，很多的博客日志由特定的领域的专家管理。Jim Romenesko的MediaNews weblog就是一个经典的例子，它是运行时间最长的涵盖所有媒体的博客网站（现在由Poynter.org主管）。
2.小组博客。
这是基本的博客的简单变型，一些小组成员共同完成博客日志，有时候作者不仅能编辑自己的内容，还能够编辑别人的条目。这种形式的博客能够使得小组成员就一些共同的话题进行讨论，甚至可以共同协商完成同一个项目。
3.亲属和朋友之间的博客。
博客也同样流行在朋友和亲属等生活圈中。这种类型博客的成员主要由亲属或朋友构成，他们是一种生活圈、一个家庭或一群项目小组的成员。这种博客通常流行在住在不同区域的朋友中，例如高中或大学的好友毕业以后各奔四方，但是他们通过博客继续交流与通信。
4.协作式的博客。
这种类型与小组博客相似，其主要目的是通过共同讨论使得参与者在某些方法或问题上达成一致，有些人也将他归到小组式的博客中。通常，我们把把协作式的博客定义为允许任何人参与、发表言论、讨论问题的博客日志。
5.公共社区博客。
前几年，在网上曾经出现过一种公共出版系统。互联网服务商不仅提供网络出版系统给用户，而且提供硬盘空间给他们。公共出版在几年以前曾经流行过一段时间，但是因为没有持久有效的商业模型而销声匿迹了。廉价的博客与这种公共出版系统有着同样的目标，但是使用更方便，所花的代价更小，所以也更容易生存。
6.商业、企业、广告型的博客。
对于这种类型博客的管理类似于通常网站的WEB广告管理。
7.知识库博客，或者叫K－LOG。
知识库博客是最令人兴奋，而且最起作用的一种类型。由于博客技术的不断发展，基于博客的知识管理也将越来越广泛。这种博客使得企业可以有效地控制和管理那些原来只是由部分工作人员拥有的、保存在文件档案或者个人电脑中的信息资料。知识库博客提供给了新闻机构、教育单位、商业企业和个人一种重要的内部管理工具。
博客的类型很复杂，以上所列举几种类型的是一种简单的划分方法，有的博客可能无法归到上面几类中，也有些博客则可能同时具有几种类型的特征。
有时候根据博客日志（blog）的存在方式，我们还可以把博客分为三类：一类是托管型的，博客们不需要自己注册域名、租用空间和编制网页，所有一切由相关网站负责完成，并且不需要支付费用，www.blogger.com 就是这样的网站，这是一种建立博客日志的最方便的方式；一类是自建独立网站的博客，有自己的域名、空间和页面风格，这种方式需要一定的条件；还有一类是附属博客，将自己的博客（blog）作为某一个网站的一个栏目、一个频道或者一个附加内容，不少媒体网站都开始有了这样的举措。
三、博客文化的特征
无论是国内还是国外的博客网站，其形式和内容仍处于探索之中。它的形式目前与一般个人网站没有明显不同，与BBS、个人网站、电子刊物等其它网络传播方式在技术本质上也没有很大的区别。博客网站无论是技术还是形式都非常简单。可以说，成为博客没有任何"技术含量"，博客所有的技术都是互联网与生俱来的。不受技术、形式和理念的约束，是博客们(blogger)的理想。
与个人主页相比较，博客是一种方便的、个人化的，即时性很强的网页。一般的个人主页门槛相对较高，正式点的个人主页，需要注册域名，需要申请租用服务器空间，需要许多软件工具使用的常识。博客日志则不同，一个会申请电子邮件的网民就完全可以"零技术知识"、"零成本"地拥有自己的博客空间。例如，你去www.blogspot.com申请，整个过程就象申请免费邮件那样简单，每天写作、编辑、上传就好象发送邮件一样。从内容上讲，博客是个人性的行为，博客的文章是从个人的角度反映个人的思想，博客日志以个人的大脑作为网络搜索引擎和思想发源地，这是目前任何搜索引擎技术无法做到的。从时效性角度，博客日志是经常动态更新、不断积累的，有些博客(blogger)甚至出差在外，也通过PDA以无线传输方式，及时将个人的行为、信息和思想记录在博客日志上，这就使得博客的文体有别于其他个人文章。
与传统的电子邮件、BBS和ICQ这三种互联网沟通方式相比，博客是一种较严肃的沟通工具。BBS公共性很强，而个人性很弱，因此缺乏约束。电子邮件和ICQ则是多用于个人间的通讯，而博客是个人性和公共性的结合。博客是个人在网上展示自己、与别人沟通交流的综合工具，它的管理也比BBS简单得多。因此，美国许多政府部门要求政府官员用博客方式来进行沟通和知识管理，而BBS、ICQ等在这方面的应用都有自己的局限性。未来博客的发展方向之一，就是成为企业、学校、政府等机构的知识管理工具，这是其他几种方式所不能实现的。当然，博客并不取代其它任何一种方式。
与传统门户网站相比较，博客则进一步深化了知识管理的专业化和个人化。比如在一个有关教育技术的博客网站上，专业的博客（blogger）从专业角度关注这个领域的一举一动，依据其教育技术理论基础与实践知识对该领域的最新动态进行追踪，通过搜索提炼信息，为受众提供及时的资料，发表自己的评论。在这一过程中，他们也通过别人的反馈和评论不断修正自己的思想。这是那些大的门户网站许多隔靴搔痒式的介绍所不能做到的。因此，许多门户网站开始将专业的、有深度的内容，交由博客（blogger）来完成。
博客个体（blogger）从事博客（blog）工作，从其动机上来讲各不相同。我们可以把他们简单分为三类：第一类人只是将博客（blog）作为个人表达思想的方式，他们是博客世界中沉默的大多数，他们的受众或读者一般非常有限，对于他们而言，有时甚至无所谓有没有读者或读者的多寡；第二类是追求影响力的博客，他们不仅把博客（blog）作为自己知识过滤、知识积累和知识传播的方式，而且在这一过程中希望更多的人了解他们和他们的思想；第三类则是认为博客可能产生一种新的产业模式，通过博客方式寻找新的商业机会。当然，有些人属于综合性博客，三者兼而有之。
博客(blog)意味着开始实践一种新的生活方式、新的工作方式、新的学习方式和新的交流方式。一个真正的博客（blogger），具有对知识的激情、对关注领域的执着、对思想与资源共享的开放心态。由此，我们可以看出，博客不单单是一种网络技术手段，也不仅是单纯的制作网页的行为，它是一种网络的文化现象。
下面，我们将对博客作为学习资源， 学习过程来讨论它对于我们教育技术的影响。
四、博客在教育技术中的应用
博客文化的精神激发了人们的求知与表现的欲望。博客（blog）作为学习的资源与学习的过程，有一些其特有的作用。
1.过滤信息。
在这个网络信息泛滥的时代，博客可以作为通往知识的一种途径。无论是教师还是学生都有这样的体会，网上的信息太多、太杂、太乱，学习者无法判别哪些信息是有价值的，哪些是重要的。教师可以通过博客将经过过滤过的信息传递给学生，而学生也可以通过博客将信息传递给他的伙伴。通过浏览别人的博客日志，知识获取的效率将得到很大的提高。
2.提供学习的丰富情境。
通常的教辅网站，只是提供一些参考资料的链接，而博客则提供更多的评价，更广泛的背景资料。有一些学者通过博客日志反映他们对某些问题的认识，开始对于这些问题的看法可能也是粗糙的，但是他们将这些思想表达出来，然后在博客上发表后续的看法。这就象计算机软件一样，思想也有1.0，2.0，3.0版。在这一过程中，专家可以将最近看了哪些书，读了哪些人的文章，听取了哪些意见都通过博客方式表达出来。这样，阅读者了解的不仅仅是专家静态的、目前的观点，而重要的是可以把握专家思想的流程。同样，这一方式对于学生来讲也是有效的，学生的博客日志可以反映出他们在学习过程中产生的问题、关于问题的想法与思路、问题的解决过程，使得教师可以更有效地了解学生的学习状况。
3.提高学生的媒体文化水平。
博客（blog）的个人化使得博客们（blogger）在信息发布的过程中，要采用最适当的方式对信息进行过滤与说明，使得他的博客日志能够为更多的人接受，使得他的思想和资源为更多的人所了解。正如我们前面所述的，与传统BBS相比，博客日志具有更强的规范性，博客们具有更强的自律性。由于博客一般是由个人或小组拥有的，通常具有共同的主题，所谓敝帚自珍，所以在博客的世界中，很少出现在BBS中常见的不负责任的"胡说八道"。
4.鼓励参与者发表自己不同的观点。
博客的模式是平等的，博客更看重的是参与的过程而不是结果。对于教师或书本上的观点，学生可以通过博客的方式发表他对于这些问题的理解，博客并不要求意见的统一，但要求意见的针对性和独立性。另外，在课程设置的过程中可以设置多个不同的议题，允许学生自由地选择他们感兴趣的议题。
5.提供对信息的评价。
博客的重要特征就是对信息的过滤，使得信息可以转换成有用的知识。但是博客所过滤的知识到底有没有价值，价值在什么地方，阅读者有没有补充的信息，阅读者对于博客(blogger)的资料和思想有什么样的观点，都可以通过评价的方式加以表述。这种方式可以在学生之间进行信息判别能力的训练。
6.鼓励学生的参与和协作。
博客可以有效地鼓励学生的参与，不光是阅读和评论老师或其它同学的博客日志，更重要的是可以通过建立自已的博客日志，设置自已的议题，与别人分享自已的思想。建立自己的博客日志是零知识的，它不需要什么网页知识、ftp知识，只要会申请帐号，就可以建立一个自已的博客（blog）。
总之，博客应用于教学，对于教师而言，博客的过程就主要是整理自己知识体系的过程，对于学习者来讲，博客(blog)的过程就主要是学习者个人构建自己的知识体系的过程。当然，在博客的过程中，教师也在不断地重新构建自己的知识体系，而学生也在不断地整理自己获得的知识。博客在教育中的应用将会延伸到许多领域。一些国外的学者认为，博客将来可以作为一种重要的教学和评价的工具。目前，国外博客在教育实践领域中的应用主要在以下这些方面。
1.学生学习情况的电子档案。
这是目前博客在教育中应用最多的场合。这种博客常用于学生对于教学的反馈、家长对学校教育的协作、学生的社会实践活动情况的汇报、研究性学习的学习资源收集整理，学生社团的兴趣爱好活动的合作空间。这种方式可以让教师和家长更容易了解和跟踪学生的学习进度。http://www.kern.org/ 就是这样一个学校网站，该学校为许多老师和学生建立了类似的博客日志。
2.教师职业训练。
作为教师职业培训的数字档案和学习记录，通过该种博客日志，既可以使教师相互之间进行协作和交流，也可以对教师进行远程的培训。许多教师可以通过博客方式与其它教师分享自已的教学体会和经验。例如，weblogg-ed.com就是这样一个记录和推动把博客应用到教育中的站点。这个网站由一位富有创造性的教育工作者Will Richardson发起的，他收集了一批目前采用博客的学校站点和教育工作者的博客站点，并在自己的博客日志中记录自己把博客应用到教学中而汇集的点滴经验。
3.课堂教学的辅助管理。
博客的这种应用可以作为教师发布与教学相关的通知、布置学生作业，对学生的作业进行评价以及提供学习资源链接的在线门户。
4.协作学习。
这种博客无论是校内还是校外都可以访问，它可以让更多的学习者参与到群体学习过程中。教师通过这种方式培养学生协作学习的能力。教师可以提供一个项目或话题，让学生共同参与。http://homer.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/blogs/j1class/weblog.html 就是这样一个博客日志，每隔一定时间教师提供一个话题，供大家共同参与讨论。
5.校内／校外的沟通。
与传统的BBS不同，博客的精神鼓励父母和其它社会成员共同参与到学校的讨论中。博客的参与者不仅仅是学生，还有老师与家长。这种方式让学校内部的成员之间，学校内部成员和外部成员之间，个人（教师，学生，家长）与学校之间可以进行更好的沟通、进行相互之间的协作。这种博客使得成员之间加深了解，老师和家长更了解学生的思想，缩小彼此之间的代沟。
6.知识管理。
提供作为学校在线的有关制度、政策和工作表等最新更新内容。积累的博客会变成一个内容管理系统(CMS)。
7.研究日志。
在合作学习或研究性学习过程中，记录并且为其它合作者提供外界资源链接，并且供其它合作者进行评价。http://www.redwoodcity.org/library/news/liblog/ 就是一个这样的网站。
目前，欧美国家的一些学校与教师正在进行将博客应用于教育的实验，在一些教师博客网站（例如weblogg-ed.com）中，一些教师写下了各自的应用体会。
教师Terry Elliot有这样的体会：博客能够承载教师的意图，它像纸一样有用。通过记录与阅读博客日志，我们能够从这种反思活动中获得很多。如果把博客当作一种学习的工具，无论教师还是学生都能够从中大有收获。
另一位教师Laura Shefler则有这样的感觉：学生在博客过程中，锻炼了批判性思维，做了一些有创意的冒险活动，并尝试语言和设计元素的更复杂用法。由此，通过博客（blog），学生掌握了一些无论在学术上还是专业环境中都必需的技能。博客使得学生能够更好地阅读、批判性地思考和积极主动的写作。
还有一些教师则这样认为：让学生制作网站（用所见即所得工具，FTP等）的时间耗费与学生所得到的收获相比未必值得。编写HTML网页然后发布到网站上比申请一个博客账号发布文字要复杂得多。博客可以让学生能够更加积极地参与到一个已有的话题中而不必太多顾虑技术的限制。
有了众多教育工作者的努力，博客会很快地在教育的许多领域得到应用。最近出现了一些专门为学校的教师和学生设计的提供博客服务的网站。SchoolBlogs.com就是其中之一，该网站的创立者之一Peter Ford 本身就是学校的教师。在该网站的标题上，注明了网站的目标－－"释放博客在教育中的潜力！"。这句口号，也许正是作者在本文中所要表达的意愿。
虽然目前国内的博客（Blogger）人数还很少，工具也不多。但是随着网络在教育中应用的不断深入，博客，一定会成为现代教育技术新的利器。当然，博客对教育的影响，不仅仅是改进教学的资源和教学的过程，博客文化的精神本质及其对教育理念可能产生的影响，作者将另文阐述。
参考文献
1．博客中国 http://www.itsway.com/
2．中国数字部落 http://www.digiblog.org/
3．http://www.redwoodcity.org/library/news/liblog/
4．http://homer.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/blogs/j1class/weblog.html
5．http://www.kern.org/
6．http://www.weblogg-ed.com
7．http://www.blogger.com
8．http://www.nedrichards.com/hnk/archives/cat_school.html
9．http://www.learnnc.org/index.nsf/doc/timesaver0501?OpenDocument
10．http://cesblog.blogspot.com/
11．http://www.msnbc.com/news/767146.asp
12．http://www.msnbc.com/news/795471.asp?0cb=-111594
作者介绍：
陈向东，上海师范大学数理信息学院讲师，华东师范大学教育信息技术系博士研究生
张际平，华东师范大学教育信息技术系教授，博士生导师
进一步探讨：网络文化内涵？
信息共享——思想共享：RESEARCH IN ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY
RESEARCH IN ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY
在线学习共同体研究
Chih-Hsiung Tu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
and
Michael Corry
Assistant Professor
The George Washington University
2134 G Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20152
Email: mailto:ctu@gwu.eduEmail: mailto:mmcisaac@asu.edu
Abstract
Online learning community has been considered as one of the most important learning concepts in technology-based instructions. Yet online learning community has not been well-defined or well-examined. The social learning process has been suggested as the fundamental factor to examine in an online learning community to ensure online participants and the community will grow and evolve in terms of their knowledge acquisition. Four basic elements and four theoretical constructs in online learning community suggest an ideal theoretical framework for future research. The purpose of this paper is to examine current literature and current research concerning online learning community, to discuss the impacts of online learning communities on human learning, and to propose a theoretical construct for future development of online learning communities.
Introduction
The importance of online learning communities has been emphasized by recent studies (Office of Learning Technologies, 1998; Tu & McIsaac, 2001; Hiltz, 1998). The definition of an online learning community is still evolving and remains obscure (Office of Learning Technologies, 1998). In fact, little conceptual framework has been developed regarding this new learning environment.
最近的研究都在强调在线学习共同体的重要。然而，在线学习共同体的定义仍旧在发展中并处于模糊阶段。实际上，几乎还没有出现关于这个最新学习环境的概念框架。
From a social learning aspect, learning community is defined as a common place where people learn through group activity to define problems affecting them, to decide upon a solution, and to act to achieve the solution.
从社会学习角度看，学习共同体定义为一个公共的场所，人们通过小组活动来发现问题、寻求方案并解决问题，在这个过程中获得新知识和技能。
As they progress, they gain new knowledge and skills (MacNeil, 1997). All of these activities and interactions occur in an online environment, called Online Learning Community (OLC), or online learning network (Hiltz, 1998). OLC has been applied widely in online education. People learn online, and thus are called a learning community, even in correspondence study or independent study. Therefore, people learning together in an online environment have been accepted as an online learning community. However, researchers (Tu & McIsaac, 2001; Schlager et al., 2000) are aiming toward a community that learns/evolves, in addition to being a community for learning. Sharing information has never been a big problem in human learning; however, how humans apply appropriate information to knowledge construction is more important than simply obtaining information. In other words, it is necessary to examine knowledge construction in a learning community and advance to the level of a community that learns, rather than just a community for information sharing and learning together.
Online Learning Community (OLC)
Researchers have attempted to define OLC from its four basic components: community, learning, network, and technology (Office of Learning Technologies, 1998).
Community
The broader view of "community" has been defined as a place where people conduct community activities, share common beliefs and share a means of communicating (Brooks, 1997). This suggests three components of community: location, activity, and beliefs. Wharf and Clague (1997) emphasized relationships among community members and their common interests (beliefs): "group of people share relationships and common interests. Geographical elements seem to be less important in this situation." Galbraith (1995) researched the definition of community from among 94 proposed definitions that appear in the literature. He agreed that community should be seen as the combination of interrelationships of geographic, locational units, non-locational units, systems, and characteristics that provide relevance and growth to individuals, groups, and organizations. Based upon various definitions, community seems to take place within social interaction about common interests, while location becomes less important. Office of Learning Technologies (1998) agreed that community interests are better suited for a learning environment.
Learning
"Learning is a process of transforming experience into knowledge, skills, and attitudes through a variety of processes" (Galbraith, 1995). Many people use "learning" and "education" interchangeably. In fact, Galbriath (1995) recognized the differences and distinguished learning from education. Basically, learning may occur in a systematic social process/interaction. Learning also occurs within individuals, which may or may not be the result of "education"; however, through an interactive social process, knowledge, skills, and attitudes can be obtained.
Moreland and Lovett (1997) classified three types of learning: formal learning, non-formal learning, and informal learning. Formal learning refers to systematic processes and pre-planned activities that generally are provided by educational institutions and organizations to obtain certain desired goals. Non-formal learning occurs outside the educational system; however, learning activities can be organized too for target learners to achieve certain learning objectives. Informal learning refers to the individual gains of skills, knowledge, and attitudes from everyday experience and from one's social environment.
Based of these discussions, community learning can refer to a situation in which learning occurs as a social learning process. MacNeil (1997) argued that, in community learning, community members should work together to solve their problems and to improve their communities. Several researchers (Graham, 1997; Schlager et al., 2000; Tu & McIsaac, 2001) have distinguished the learning community from community learning. Learning community has been seen as a community for participants to learn together and learning is gained horizontally, as opposed to where the learning is gained horizontally and vertically, called community learning. In other words, community members learn and the community itself also learns. In fact, both types of learning are critical because community growth and development and the learning of community members enhance each other in the process. Lifelong learning is a good example of the relationship between learning community and community learning.
Network
Sociologically, a network is defined as a pattern of communications and relationships (Schuler, 1996). Graham (1997) argued that community networks are essentially grassroots organizations in their development. The growth of communities and learners rely on the sustainability of self-organized local initiatives; and the issue of local control and autonomy is crucial to their usefulness and relevance. The concept of "the community is the network" is also emphasized; that is, a community is first and foremost a social process. Therefore, community networks are essential tools for mobilizing community participants around local social issues. Community networks also enable community members to access and share information resources more easily, to stimulate their knowledge, and to contribute to their empowerment.
Technology
Network technology (CMC technology) systems have been used as a medium of communication rather than for their technological properties (Tu, 2000a). Examining CMC systems requires examining an interactive communication model. Technologies in an online learning community setting can be classified as synchronous (real time communication) or asynchronous (time-delayed communication) systems (Jonassen et al., 1995; McIsaac & Gunawardena, 1996; Walther, 1992). Asynchronous communication is communication that does not require participants to be communicating at the same time or in the same place; e.g., electronic mail, electronic bulletin board, and listserv. Synchronous communication requires participants to be communicating at the same time, i.e., real-time computer conferencing. Audio and video conferencing systems are not included in this discussion. These technologies possess the potential to enhance learning in an online environment.
Learning Impact
This importance of OLC can be explained by the impact that OLC have on human learning.
Collaborative Learning
Asynchronous online learning communities with collaboration demonstrate effective instruction. Ocker and Yaverbaum (1999) found that asynchronous collaboration is as effective as face-to-face (FTF) collaboration in terms of learning, quality of solution, solution content, and satisfaction with the solution quality. However, online learners were significantly less satisfied with the asynchronous learning experience, both in terms of the group interaction process and the quality of group discussions. Additionally, Hiltz (1998) argued that an online learning community with collaborative design is more effective than working individually. The ideal collaborations can be facilitated by well-constructed software to support group activities and interactions. However it can only facilitate the desired behavior, not produce it.
Equal Access
An online learning community has the potential to equalize economic and learning opportunity. OECD (1996) has identified online learning as an effective means by which disadvantaged groups and individuals can acquire and improve their skills and knowledge. Although this argument is strong, there is little evidence to specify the impact that online technology exerts on equality (Neuman, 1990; Doctor, 1992). Graham basically agreed with the value of an online learning community; however, the construction of the ideal online community network model itself should be optimized and not focus on the impact of technologies. With appropriate design, utilization of technologies will enhance active participation in socioeconomic and political structures. In fact, Odasz (1994) remarked that with technologies, community members will be able to partner with experts in other fields or similar fields to expand and enrich their learning experiences, like e-mail mentors (Tu & McIsaac, 2001).
High Social Presence
Learning in an online learning community occurs as an active social process that is defined as: "the level of social presence depends upon social context, online communication, and interactivity (Tu & McIsaac, 2002)." Online social presence (Hiltz, 1998) is required to ensure the online interaction necessary to sustain community activity. Social presence is a critical factor that affects the online learning community. Gunawardena and Zittle (1997) found that social presence is the predictive of the satisfaction of online learners with their learning. Social presence, online learners' social relationships, tasks being engaged in (Tu & Corry, 2002b), communication styles and personal characteristics have impacts on online learning (Tu & McIsaac, 2001). Therefore, researchers concluded that to foster an ideal online learning community, one should increase and idealize the level of social presence.
Technology as Tools
Technology has been seen as a tool used by the online learning community. Office of Learning Technologies (1998) argued that networking technology has been viewed as a revolutionary tool to build online communities, strengthen relationships, and mobilize joint planning and community action. In the past two decades research has shown that no significant difference exists between technology-based instruction and traditional instruction. However, technology can be used as a tool for learning and as a means where learners can approach the learning experiences of their choosing at their own pace.
Resources
Resources available through technology provide the greatest advantage in its use. Current technology is capable of delivering many resources, particularly resources for learning. These resources are likely to enhance learning in an online community. Technology brings participants together to generate online interaction. An ideal online learning community should be able to provide its members with multiple perspectives in their learning experiences (Tu, 2000b). These rich perspectives will be able to enhance the online interaction and to stimulate a higher level of thinking and learning. A cumulative learning and knowledge experience can result in the development of a community. Graham (1995) argued that: "community networks intensively collate community knowledge and experience, leading to a bottom-up ... sharing ... the pay-off for individual participation in a community network is more in the experiential learning that occurs."
Blurred Boundaries
Computer-mediated communication democratizes the online learning environment (DiMatteo, 1990; Rheingold, 1993; Sproull & Kiesler, 1991a). CMC has been described as a venue where participants can contribute equally in communications (DiMatteo, 1990; Hiltz & Turoff, 1981; Rheingold, 1993; Siegel et al., 1986; Sproull & Kiesler, 1991b). The democratic openness of the computer conference environment allows all learners an opportunity to contribute (Harasim, 1990). Harasim (1996) described the possibility "...for anyone to become an information provider for others, thereby both democratizing information access and enabling new roles for network users. In the most successful online courses, students assume some of the roles that traditionally belong to the instructor" (p. 208). Democratic openness, the absence of nonverbal status cues, teacher-student role reversal, and learner-to-learner interaction within a CMC environment provide an opportunity for a more equal platform for communication and more stimulus for action than does a traditional classroom (Sproull & Kiesler, 1991a) and more peer interactions were concluded (Edelson, 1998; Whitworth, 1998; Roberts, 1987; Sirc & Reynolds, 1990; Whitworth, 1998). This phenomenon obscures the boundary between learners and teachers. Odasz (1994) stated that everyone has the potential to be simultaneously a student and a teacher in a much more flexible familial context than our current punitive, rigidly-structured educational system.
Learner-Centered
Because of the blurred roles of students and teachers, more weight is placed on the learning process/experience than upon roles. In other words, both students and teachers, as learners, share their responsibilities in online learning. Morrison (1995) argued that the learning process is unbounded by time (when one learns), space (where one learns), mode (how one learns), pace (the rate at which one learns), level (the depth of learning) and role (with whom one learns). Therefore, it is not merely learner-centered; in fact, an online learning community is a learner-driven process. While the learning is in transition from teacher-centered to learner-driven, the focus which had emphasized the needs of organization, government, and institutional is moving to a focus on community-centered needs. This shift has made lifelong learning more important.
Lifelong Learning
Since the learning paradigm is shifting to community-centered learning, lifelong learning is gaining in importance. Lifelong learning is what individuals learn over the course of their lifetimes and in a multitude of contexts. Galbraith (1995) defined it more precisely as: "those changes in consciousness that take place throughout the life span which result in an active and progressive process to comprehend the intellectual, societal, and personal changes that confront each individual human being." Clearly, this definition has given weight to community-centered learning. Therefore, the online learning community becomes a new way to examine human learning.
Research
Elements of OLC
Four elements (community, network, learning and technology) are proposed by Office of Learning Technologies (1998) for examining online learning community. These basic elements should be identified when one is conducting research in Office of Learning Technologies. According to Office of Learning Technologies (1998), community considers geographical communities and communities of interest. Network is either physical or virtual, determined by the use of technologies. Learning should be a combination of formal, informal and non-formal. Finally, technologies must consider the level of intensity, nature and focus, network-specific or learning-specific.
Grounded in Social Learning
Effective learning occurs in active approaches that present learning as a social process that takes place through communication with others (Hiltz, 1998; Mead, 1934). This concept leads the research of online learning community to social learning. Based online social presence, Tu (2000b) identified the relationship between an online learning community and Vygotsky's social learning (Vygotsky, 1978) (see Table 1).
Table 1: The relationship of social learning and online learning community
Social Learning Theory Online Learning Community/Social Presence
Personal Factors (Tenor) • Social Context
Behavior (Mode) • Online Communication
Environment (Field) • Interactivity
Social interaction is a key component in social learning according to Vygotsky's theory. CMC is devoted primarily to social interaction (Reid, 1991), because its users perceive a higher degree of social presence (Walther, 1995). In OLC, participants agreed that there were many social and personal messages; because of the high degree of social presence created by the teacher/moderator, social interaction was enhanced and social learning was increased (Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997).
Freire (1994) summarized Vygotsky's social learning theory into three elements: tenor, mode, and fields. The tenor represents learners' relationships/impersonal metafunctions; mode refers to language/textual metafunctions; and fields are explained as nature of social activity and ideational metafunctions. These three elements were reinterpreted by Tu (2000b) as personal factors, behaviors, and environment, that fit in the three dimensions of social presence (Tu & McIsaac, 2002) in an online learning environment. Based on Tu and McIsaac's findings, they suggest that in building an online learning community, one must: (a) foster and gain a better understanding of online learners' social learning context (social relationship, personal characteristics, and personal perceptions on online technology); conduct appropriate use of CMC technologies (understand the characteristics of each CMC medium, use paralanguage and emoticons to compensate for the lack of non-verbal cues); and (c) engage learners in the design of interactive activities (to be responsive, to use appropriate communication style, to apply collaborative activities, and to adopt appropriate group size).
Current Research Weakness
Three current research weaknesses in online learning environment were identified through comprehensive literature review (Tu & Corry, 2002a): (a). Differences between online and traditional communities are not clearly addressed, (b). Focus is usually directed at end products, not the level of self; and (c). Most data are derived from short-term studies.
They argued that current research fails to differentiate clearly between online and traditional communities and, further, fails to address the behavior of participants in an online community. Most studies have transferred the traditional community model to an online environment (McIsaac & Gunawardena, 1996), which clouds the meaning of an online community. Traditional community models do not necessarily apply to online communities and lead to the elaboration of critical questions in the examination of online communities. To ameliorate this weakness, it is suggested that one must gain a comprehensive understanding of online communities by identifying the online definitions of situations; and, under these definitions of situations, which scripts the online participants apply.
Secondly, current studies examined messages (the end-product of community communications) and are not concerned with how and why individuals became online participants or the scripts that participants have followed to produce these messages. In other words, most studies have ignored the development of the online self and the formation of the online community. Simple discourse analysis is not adequate to capture the social life of an online community. They suggested that the "online self" must be understood before one can begin to compile a comprehensive understanding of an online community.
Thirdly, the fundamentals of a community require more time to develop in online social environments than in FTF social environments (Tu & McIsaac, 2002; Walther, 1992) therefore, short-term observations cannot adequately describe the formation and development of a community; and, are totally inadequate to evaluate the dynamics of a community. They suggested that research must be conducted in a long-term fashion to allow community and participants to develop more mature social information processes.
Theoretical Construct
Based on previous analysis, a theoretical construct for OLC is proposed in this study (See Figure 1). OLC is necessarily grounded in the social learning process. The Office of Learning Technologies' (1998) four elements (community, network, learning, and technology) of OLC are related to Tu and Corry's (Tu & Corry, 2002a) four constructs of OLC: Community of Practice (CoP), Social Presence, Collaborative Learning, and Knowledge Construction Technology.
Figure 1: The theoretical Framework for Online Learning Community
CoP (Community)
Communities of practice (CoP) (Wenger, 1998) have the potential to be conducive to mastery of new knowledge (Lieberman, 1996) in an online learning community (McMaster, 1999; Renyi, 1996). CoPs are groups who share similar goals and interests; and, in doing so, employ common practices, work with the same tools and express themselves in a common language. Through such common activity, they come to hold similar beliefs and value systems (Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) Project, 2000; Wenger, 1998). These groups of professionals are bound informally to one another through exposure to a common class of problems, a common pursuit of solutions, and embody a store of knowledge.
Tu and McIsaac (2002) suggested that several factors identified in their study should serve as a model for building a CoP for education reform: determine knowledge; build important topics/issues; gain members' background context; and design pull technology. One must determine which connections to make between learners, to understand what kind of knowledge to share; what kind of community it is inclined to be; and how tightly sharing knowledge needs to link with work. To enhance learning, one does not need to create and build them from the ground up because CoPs arise spontaneously in most organizations. However, one needs to identify and nurture them with the resources, structure, and systems they need to flourish. Developing CoPs is closer to husbandry than architecture.
When building communities on natural networks, coordinators must be generated to organize and maintain the community activities, such as building important topics, initiating simple knowledge sharing activities and arranging social activities. The coordinators also need to provide the members with the time and encouragement to reflect, share ideas with others, and think through the implications of other ideas. Because communities are organized and supported differently, community development requires a different set of tools and approaches. CoPs often require time to develop. Because they are organic, CoPs need time to find the right kind of information to share, the right level of detail, the right participants and the right forums. Individuals must support the community in making these discoveries quickly; but, since information, level of detail, participants, and right forums will be different for different communities, each community will need to discover their own appropriate forum.
Collaborative Learning (Learning)
Collaborative learning enhances the active exchange of ideas within small groups and increases interest among the participants while also promoting critical thinking (Garrison, 1999; Hiltz, 1998). The community of collaborative learning, that is,the grouping and pairing of students for the purpose of achieving an academic goal, has been widely examined and is advocated throughout the professional literature. The "collaborative learning" refers to an instruction method in which students at various performance levels work together in small groups toward a common goal. The learners are responsible for another's learning as well as their own. Thus, the success of one student helps other students to be successful.
Hiltz and Turoff (1993) and Hiltz (1998) purposed a few strategies to enhance collaborative learning. Some examples of collaborative learning activities are seminar-style presentations and discussions, debates, group projects, simulation and role-playing exercises, and collaborative composition of essays, exam questions, stories or research plans. However, more effective factors should be identified in future research.
Social Presence (Network)
Social presence is one of most critical factors in the online learning environment (McIsaac & Gunawardena, 1996; Tu & McIsaac, 2002). "The level of social presence depends upon social context, online communication, and interactivity. When the level of social presence is high, there is a potential that online learners will engage more interactively in online activities (Tu & McIsaac, 2002).
Research should focus on the relationships of online interaction and three dimensions of social presence: social context, online community, and interactivity. Issues in each dimension deserve further examinations (See Table 2).
Table 2: Critical issues in three dimensions of social presence
Issues that affect social presence DIMENSIONS
I. Social Context II. Online Communication III. Interactivity
1 Familiarity with recipients Keyboarding & accuracy skills Timely response
2 Assertive/acquiescent Use of emoticons & paralanguage Communication styles
3 Informal/formal relationship Characteristics of real time discussion Length of messages
4 Trust relationships Characteristics of discussion boards Formal/informal
5 Social relationships (Love & Information) Language skills: Reading, Writing Type of tasks (Planning, creativity, social tasks)
6 Psychological attitude toward technology Size of groups
7 Access & Location Communication strategies
8 User's characteristics
Knowledge Construction (Technology)
In a knowledge construction community, one should have the opportunity to make contributions that will enhance the total learning value of the community. Learners contribute and quickly find the best resources that are key to knowledge mining and knowledge construction. This type of knowledge construction community will enhance online learning positively and will lead to the development of more personalized, self-adaptive learning systems.
Managing knowledge represents the primary opportunity for achieving substantial significant improvements in learner performance and competitive advantage, because knowledge and information have become the medium in which learning occurs. A community of knowledge management is able to treat the knowledge component of learning activities as an explicit concern of learning reflected in strategy, policy, and practice at all levels of the learning environment. Tu and McIsaac (2001) argued the importance of knowledge management tools for online learning. Making a direct connection between both explicit (recorded) and tacit (personal know-how) intellectual assets. Discovering the important factors that have impact on this knowledge construction process should occur in future research. In practice, knowledge management often encompasses identifying and mapping intellectual assets within the learning environment, generating new knowledge for competitive advantage within the learning environment, making vast amounts of information accessible, sharing the best practices, and technology that enables all of the above, including groupware, database, intranets, etc.
Conclusion
Online learning community is becoming an important concept in current technology-based learning. The research and literature are still in their infancy. Identifying important concepts and factors that have impacts on online learning community is critical at the current stage. This paper examined online learning community from a social learning process aspect to discuss the important theoretical constructs that are identified in current research and literature. This step will challenge and assist researchers who are interested in online learning community to think critically regarding the issues of online learning community. With a better understanding about online learning communities, how they work, and how they develop/evolve, online learning community, this new learning paradigm, will open other avenues to enhance human learning with the integration of technology.
References
Brooks, J. M. (1997). Beyond teaching and learning paradigms: Trekking into the virtual university. Teaching Sociology, 27, 1-14.
Collaborative Visualization (CoVis) Project. (2000) Communities of practice [Web Page]. URL http://www.covis.nwu.edu/info/philosophy/communities-of-practice.html [2000, July 11].
DiMatteo, A. (1990). Under erasure: a theory for interactive writing in real time. Computers and Composition, 7, 71-84.
Doctor, R. D. (1992). Social equity and information technologies: moving toward information democracy. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 27, 43-96.
Edelson, P. J. (1998). The organization of courses via the Internet, academic aspects, interaction, evaluation, and accreditation. Paper presented at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Mexico City, Mexico, February 17, 1998).
Freire, M. M. (1994). A social-cultural/semiotic interpretation of intercommunication mediated by computers. International Conference L.S.Vygotsky and the Contemporary Human Sciences 1994.
Galbraith, M. (1995). Community-based organization and the delivery of lifelong learning opportunities. Paper presented at the National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries and Lifelong Learning, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.
Garrison, D. R. (1999). Will Distance Disappear in Distance Studies? A Reaction. Journal of Distance Education, 14(2).
Graham, G. (1995). A domain where thought is free to roam: The social purpose of community networks. Paper presented for Telecommunities Canada at the CRTC public hearings on information highway convergence.
Graham, G. (1997). Community, virtual community and community networks: the telecommunities Canada position on "Public Lanes," universal access and electronic public space. Paper presented at Universal Access Workshop, Information Policy Research Program.
Gunawardena, C. N., & Zittle, F. J. (1997). Social presence as a predictor of satisfaction within a computer-mediated conferencing environment. The American Journal of Distance Education, 11(3), 8-26.
Harasim, L. M. (1990). Online education: An environment for collaboration and intellectual amplification. L. M. Harasim (Ed.), Online education: Perspectives on a new environment (pp. 38-66). New York: Praeger.
Harrison, T. M., & Stephen, T. (1996). Computer networking, communication, and scholarship. T. M. Harrison, & T. Stephen (Editors), Computer Networking and Scholarly Communication in the Twenty-First-Century University (pp. 3-38). New York: State University of New York Press.
Hiltz, S. R. (1998). Collaborative learning in asynchronous learning networks: Building learning. In WebNet 98' World Conference of the WWW, Internet, and Intranet Proceeding .
Hiltz, S. R., & Turoff, M. (1981). The evolution of user behavior in a computerized conferencing system. Communications of the ACM, 24(11), 739-751.
Hiltz, S. R., & Turoff, M. (1993). The network nation: Human communication via computer (Rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Jonassen, D., Davidson, M., Collins, M., Campbell, J., & Haag, B. B. (1995). Constructivism and computer-mediated communication in distance education. The American Journal of Distance Education, 9(2), 7-26.
Lieberman, A. (1996). Creating intentional learning communities. Educational Leadership, 54(3), 51-55.
MacNeil, T. (1997). Assessing the gap between community development practice and regional development policy. B. Wharf, & M. Clague (eds.), Community Organizing; Canadian Experiences (pp. 149-163). Toronto: Oxford University Press.
McIsaac, M. S., & Gunawardena, C. N. (1996). Distance Education. In D.Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook for research on educational communications and technology (pp. 403-437). New York: Scholastic Press.
McMaster, M. (1999) Communities of practice: An introduction [Web Page]. URL http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/mmintro.shtml [2000, July 11].
Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self, and society: From the standpoint of a social behaviorist. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Moreland, R., & Lovett, T. (1997). Lifelong learning and community development. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 16(3), 201-216.
Morrison, T. R. (1995). Global Transformation and the Search for a New Educational Design. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 14(3), 188-213.
Neuman, D. (1990). Beyond the chip: A model for fostering equity "B" . School Library Media Quarterly, 18(3), 158-164.
Ocker, R. J., & Yaverbaum, G. (1999). Asynchronous computer-mediated communication versus face-to-face collaboration: Results on student learning, quality and satisfaction. Group Decision and Negotiation, 8, 427-440.
OECD. (1996). Adult learning and technology in OECD countries. Proceedings of a Roundtable sponsored jointly by the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation and the National Center on Adult Literacy .
Office of Learning Technologies. (1998). Models of Community Learning Networks in Canada. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Office of Learning Technologies by New Economy Development Group Inc..
Ozasz, F. (1994). Issues in the development of community cooperative networks. Paper presented at the Rural Datafication Conference.
Reid, E. M. (1991) Electropolis: Communication and community on Internet relay chat [Web Page]. URL http://people.we.mediaone.net/elizrs/electropolis.html [2000, May 31].
Renyi, J. (1996) Teachers Take Charge of Their Learning: Transforming Professional Development for Student Success [Web Page]. URL http://www.nfie.org/takechar.htm [2000, July 29].
Rheingold, H. (1993). The virtual community. New York: Addison-Wesley.
Roberts, L. (1987). The electronic seminar: distance education by computer conferencing. Paper presented at the Annual Conference on Non-Traditional and Interdisciplinary Programs (5th, Fairfax, VA, May 1987).
Schlager, M., Fusco, J., & Schank, P. (2000). Evolution of an on-line education community of practice. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of American Educational Research Association.
Schuler, D. (1996). New community networks: Wired for change. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Computer and Engineering Publishing Group.
Siegel, J., Dubrovsky, V., Kiesler, S., & McGuire, T. W. (1986). Group processes in computer-mediated communication. Organization Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 37, 157-187.
Sirc, J., & Reynolds, T. (1990). The face of collaboration in the networked writing classroom. 7, 53-70.
Sproull, L. S., & Kiesler, S. (1991a). Computers, networks, and work. Scientific American, 265(3), 116-123.
Sproull, L. S., & Kiesler, S. (1991b). Connections: New ways of working in the networked organization. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Tu, C. H. (2000a). Critical examination of factors affecting interaction on CMC. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 23(1), 39-58.
Tu, C. H. (2000b). On-line learning migration: From social learning theory to social presence theory in CMC environment. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 23(1), 27-37.
Tu, C., & Corry, M. (2002a). A paradigm shift for online community research. Distance Education: An International Journal, 22(2).
Tu, C., & Corry, M. (2002b). The Relationships of Social Presence, Tasks, and Social Relationships in Online Learning Environment. Paper to be presented at the Annual Conference of American Educational Research Association (AERA).
Tu, C. H., & McIsaac, M. S. (2001). Community of Practice for Mentoring. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of American Educational Research Association (AERA).
Tu, C. H., & McIsaac, M. S. (2002). An examination of social presence to increase interaction in online classes. The American Journal of Distance Education, 16(3).
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Walther, J. B. (1992). Interpersonal effects in computer-mediated interaction: A relational perspective. Communication Research, 19(1), 52-90.
Walther, J. B. (1995). Relational aspects of computer-mediated communication: Experimental observations over time. Organization Science, 6(2), 186-203.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Wharf, B., & Clague, M. (1997). Community Organizing; Canadian Experiences. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Whitworth, J. M. (1998). Looking at distance learning through both ends of the camera. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (71st, San Diego, CA, April 19-22, 1998).
|
