It is only week two and already feel like I have learned so much! Little did I know when I signed up for this course that I would be involved in meetings where I could discuss topics and ask questions to my instructor and my peers in real-time. I have found the meetings to be so helpful in clarifying and reinforcing information that I have read in text. I am also pretty impressed that I have set up a Blog site; this is something that I honestly never thought that I would participate in; what a wonderful tool for expression of thoughts and ideas.
Summary of Renninger & Shumar's Chapters 1-3:
The introduction really takes the reader through the difference between a physical community and a virtual community. Shumar and Renninger (2002, pp.1-2) state, "virtual communities involve a combination physical and virtual interaction, social communication, and identity...physical communities can extend the range of community, and individuals can tailor their personal communities." The breakout group that I participated in on Wednesday night (January 26th) discussed what we thought made-up a successful virtual community, which ties into the information in the introduction of Shumar and Renninger's text. Our list included: (a) people with similar goals, purposes, and interests, (b) interaction, both formal and informal, where people can choose to participate actively or be a "lurker," (c) No concept of space or time, (d) opportunity, (e) dynamic/fluid/evolving, (f) autonomy, (g) cognitive, (h) imagination, (i) affective, and (j) strong leadership that performs frequent needs assessment on their participants.
Chapters 1-3 introduce different types of communities. In Chapter 1, MediaMOO is discussed, and frankly, I have never heard of MediaMOO until I read this chapter. It was interesting to read about the rise and fall of something that at the time was so cutting-edge and popular. This really reinforces the need for strong leadership at all times (founder Amy Bruckman branched off in 1995 to start MOOSE Crossing). Bruckman and Jensen (2002, p.32) state "enthusiasm of the leadership of the group is essential." Another problem that MediaMOO encountered was the splintering off subgroups and new subgroups were not forming in their place. A solution to this problem was to "adopt a distributed architecture that allows subgroups independence while maintaining connection and affiliation with the parent group" (Bruckman and Jensen, 2002, p. 26). MediaMOO's demise was a combination of factors, but one of the most significant, in my opinion, is that it did not reinvent itself; it remained static and therefore lost the interest of participants.
Chapter 2 was pretty fun to read and in a way, I related to what the girls were feeling. I also feel anxious and intimidated when it comes to new technology, however, I have such a strong desire to learn how to use it, that I have to overcome my fears. I think it is terrific that the girls expressed increased interest in technology; decreased anxiety and increased technical confidence; and developed new technical skills at the completion of this study (Davidson and Shofield, 2002). I do find it interesting that the girls would assist the boys, however, the boys were never observed assisting the girls. I wonder why this occurred? I also wonder if the group were not so small and did not receive so much individualized instruction, would the results be similar? For instance, class sizes have increased to the 30's in some districts, would girls in a classroom of 30 have as much success as the ten girls in this study? Davidson and Shofield (2002, p. 55) do acknowledge this question and admit they cannot answer it definitely, however, the authors state "the girls linked their enjoyment of this leaning situation directly to its relational qualities-the opportunities it provided to build new relationships and to further those that previously existed." Nonetheless, this study shows that if girls encounter computers and interaction with computers in a different nature, then it could enhance interest and technical skills and open up more opportunities.
Chapter 3 highlights Math Forum, a model of a successful virtual community. Renninger and Shumar (2002) elaborate on several reasons why MathForum.org is such a successful community: (1) provision of autonomy, (2) supports knowledge building, (3) enhances feelings of competence, (4) reengages participants, (5) continuous process of evolution, (6) inquiry-oriented, (7) fosters imagination, (8) staff are responsive to users, (9) use of questionnaires to exchange information, (10) involves all levels of experience, (11) feeling of purpose and belonging, (12) challenged to think, (13) continuity of leadership, and (14) dynamic set of resources. This list is not complete, but it highlights many of the factors that make Math Forum a successful virtual community.
I did find it interesting that the three teachers featured in this chapter enhanced their computer skills and then transferred to a more affluent school system. This makes me wonder if students at a lower SES school system are perpetually at a disadvantage due to lack of resources and high quality teachers that can provide the instruction needed to become competent in technology.
References:
Bruckman, A., & Jensen, C. (2002). The mystery of the death of mediamoo: Seven years of evolution of an online community. In K. Renninger & W. Shumar (Eds.), Building virtual communities: Learning and change in cyberspace (pp. 21-33). Cambridge University Press.
Davidson, A., & Schofield, J. (2002). Female voices in virtual reality: Drawing young girls into an online world. In K. Renninger & W. Shumar (Eds.), Building virtual communities: Learning and change in cyberspace (pp. 34-59). Cambridge University Press.
Renninger, K., & Shumar, W. (2002). Community building with and for teachers at the math forum. In K. Renninger & W. Shumar (Eds.), Building virtual communities: Learning and change in cyberspace (pp. 60-95). Cambridge University Press.
Shumar, W., & Renninger, K. (2002). Introduction: On conceptualizing community. In K. Renninger & W. Shumar (Eds.), Building virtual communities: Learning and change in cyberspace (pp. 1-20). Cambridge University Press.
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