Designing System Dualities

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511805080.007

3 - Designing System Dualities

Characterizing an Online Professional Development Community

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012

Sasha A. Barab ,

James G. MaKinster and

Edited by

Rob Kling and

Sasha A. Barab: Affiliation:
Indiana University
James G. MaKinster: Affiliation:
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Rebecca Scheckler: Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Sasha Barab: Affiliation:
Indiana University
Rob Kling: Affiliation:
Indiana University
James H. Gray: Affiliation:
SRI International, Stanford, California

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Summary

The advent of cyberspace is apt to be seen in two ways, each of which can be regretted or welcomed, either as a new stage in the etherealization of the world we live in, the real world of people and things and places, or, conversely, as a new stage in the concretization of the world we dream and think in, the world of abstractions, memory and knowledge.

– Benedikt, 1991, p. 124

The idea of “virtual communities” has captured popular, as well as scholarly, attention. Numerous websites and dot.com companies advertise their “online communities.” In hundreds of books and articles, virtual communities are championed by educators, cognitive scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, computer scientists, and even CEOs. This outpouring of interest takes place in an America that is increasingly concerned about the loss of face-to-face community (Putnam, 2001). Advocates of online communities hope that by leveraging technology, they can recreate a “we” that has steadily eroded into many isolated “I's.” There is confusion, though, about the definition of a virtual community, which includes anything from a tight-knit group of people who share important parts of their lives on a day-to-day basis to an amorphous chat group that can be joined (and left) by anyone with a valid password. Many educators are participating in this movement as well, exploring the educational value of employing a “community” model for supporting learning. The idea is that through participating in a community, novices can learn through collaboration with others and by working alongside more experienced members.

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Type: Chapter
Information: Designing for Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning , pp. 53 - 90

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511805080.007 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2004

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