Analyzing the Conversation in Informal Online Communities

Your Name and Title:

Mark Hines, Director of Educational Technology

School, Library, or Organization Name:

Mid-Pacific Institute

Co-Presenter Name(s):

Area of the World from Which You Will Present:

Honolulu, Hawaii

Language in Which You Will Present:

English

Target Audience(s):

Researchers in k-12 Education

Short Session Description (one line):

We will review some of the means and methodologies that allow analysis of learning communities online

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

Using Computer Mediated Discourse Analysis to explore learning in online conversations

Description: The purpose of this case study is to investigate an informal online social learning community maintained for K-12 teachers and administrators. The study looks at how they share and apply new professional practice to change their knowledge and behaviors.

The project investigates 3 years of online forum discussions in an online Community that was as set up specifically to support community conversations amongst teachers and administrators. The methodology is Computer Mediated Discourse Analysis (Herring 2009) to analyze both public and semi private conversations that have occurred since fall of 2009. We will discuss different instruments and approaches used for coding and analysis.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:

http://futureschools.ning.com

Tags: 2012SLS, informal network, knowledge, social learning, technology

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