Case Study I

Virtual Social Community

Introduction

I chose Facebook for Case Study #1. The social networking community was originally created in 2004 by Harvard undergraduates to provide an opportunity for students to network. I logged into Facebook to observe the structure of the community from a sociological and technological perspective.

I originally became a member to keep in touch with my son's family who live in Atlanta, Georgia. Since I've been online, I've been surprised by the number of friends that both my husband and I have established contact with. I observe more often than I participate in the discussions/comments. A friend at work, who also watches the comments more than she participates, said, "We are voyeurs". I think I like the "lurker" title better. J I've uploaded pictures. I've viewed the picture albums that my family and friends post and used the virtual gift feature. I've experimented with Poke, Chat, and Farm features when I interact with the grandchildren.

Type of Community

The purpose of the community is social networking. The goals are to enable interaction among members and to create an atmosphere conducive for friends to connect with "long lost friends". I've heard it described as a "front porch". Years ago, Americans had large front porches attached to their homes. It was a common custom for neighbors to gather on the front porch and exchange information about their daily activities and "tidbits" of local gossip. It was a way to build and maintain relationships. Today, families live and work miles apart. Some people believe that Facebook is a way to create a "front porch" relationship with friends and loved ones.

Structure of Community

Members setup logon information and profiles. The profile gives the member an opportunity to delineate the personal information that is available for others to view. The Wall is a profile page and a place for friends to post comments for other members to see. When a member wants to interact with another member, a Friend Request is sent to the member requesting "Friendship" status. Status updates allow users to post messages for all their friends to read. Friends can post comments in response to the status updates. The News Feed feature includes information about profile changes, upcoming events, and birthdays, etc. Photos and videos can be uploaded to the site. Most comments include simple phrases. Examples include: "The sun is shining!" "Beautiful picture." But, there are also more serious pictures and comments. According to the evening news, the first pictures of the Haiti earthquake were posted on Facebook.

Design Features and Roles of the Technology

The community gives the member numerous choices for activities that relate to social interaction. At the same time Facebook allows members the opportunity to secure their profile, limit the access of others to their comments, and observe without commitment. The site is embellished with activities, games, gifts, and features that promote positive interactions between members. Features are updated periodically to facilitate communications and interactions.

Conclusion and Implications

I've enjoyed meeting new friends and finding friends and family members that I had lost contact with. Facebook provides a positive forum for member comments. The length of comments are limited which prevents over satiation of one member's rhetoric. I believe the open communications inhibit malicious gossip because everyone can see the comments you have made. Most of the comments are upbeat and positive. Facebook is addictive. I look forward to finding additional friends through Facebook.

Virtual Learning Community

Introduction

I chose MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) because the site provides resources for my nursing class presentations and educational opportunities for me. I first visited MERLOT during a previous class. I was fascinated at the abundance of resources available. I obtained video clips for a PowerPoint presentation that I made for a nursing class requirement.

Type of Community

MERLOT has free access and was developed by the California State University Center for Distributed Learning in 1997. Apple Computer, and other industry, university, and government collaborators hosted the community. MERLOT is a user-centered, searchable collection of peer reviewed and selected higher education, online learning materials catalogued by registered members and a set of faculty development support services. MERLOT states that their strategic goal is to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning by increasing the quantity and quality of peer reviewed online learning materials that can be easily incorporated into faculty designed courses. I believe MERLOT is a task-based learning community. According to Riel and Polin (2004) "Task-based learning communities are groups of people organized around a task who work intently together for a specified period of time to produce a product (p.20)." Although MERLOT adds to the available resources over time, different individuals and groups work on each resource to produce an end product.

Structures of the Community

The University of Georgia System, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, University of North Carolina System, and the California State University System created a cooperative initiative to develop new MERLOT collections, conduct peer reviews, and add student learning assignments. Each organization also makes financial contributions to support these endeavors. Individual members volunteer their expertise in developing resources for the site. I visited the Health Science Community where I accessed a simulation for electrode placement when administering an EKG. The creator's name was listed along with her email address for contact purposes. I was provided with an option to download a simulation to my "personal file" for later use. Each resource was rated with one to five stars. One is the least effective teaching tool and five is the most effective teaching tool.

Design Features and Role of Technology

The site is designed for easy access through user friendly menus. The MERLOT Repository contains learning materials along with assignments and comments to enhance the learning experience. A variety of Community Portals are categorized by discipline and program area. The Portals provide information about teaching strategies, professional associations, journals, conferences, and professional development resources.

Conclusion and Implications

MERLOT is a great resource for both instructors and students. The site is user friendly with easy access to the various communities and learning materials. I look forward to using MERLOT for my classroom presentations. I can't envision improvements to enhance the site. Maybe, when I've had more experience, I can recommend areas for improvement.