Inghilterra, X. , Ravatua-Smith W. S. (2014)
Online Learning Communities: Use of Micro blogging for Knowledge Construction
In Pelet, J. (Dir.). E-Learning 2.0 Technologies and Web Applications in Higher Education,
IGI Global, 2014,
doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-4876-0
Abstract : This chapter highlights the potential of educational microblogging as a mediation system to support the process of distance learning. In their experimental approach, the authors conducted participant observations with university students who used their pedagogical device over the course of two semesters. Students participated through peer-to-peer and peer-to-peer to tutor interactions that took place within the academic and personal spheres. In the research corpus, the communitarian dynamic of social networks combined with playful immersion is a fruitful heuristic for individualizing learning paths and strengthening student dedication and commitment. The digital ethnographic participant observations revealed that the sharing and dissemination of information via microblogging allowed the creation of new collaborative methods and development of a culture of participation within the community of student learners. The use of socio-technical devices such as Twitter and microblogging have proven to be excellent tools for accustoming students to Web 2.0 technologies and ensuring optimal participation in the learning process. This chapter unveils a successful approach to constructing a digital ecosystem where social interactions are initiated (during real-time synchronous educational sessions) and extended outside of academic boundaries into the private sphere. The sociotechnical mediation that the authors have created around Twitter has proven to be very effective in linking these two spatio-temporally contiguous entities for the benefit of learning communities.
Key Words : Sociotechnical device, social networks, intermediatization, participation literacy, affordances.