Enhancing the Social Capital of Learning Communities by Using an Ad Hoc Transient Communities Service

Fetter, S., Berlanga, A. J., & Sloep, P. B. (2009). Enhancing the Social Capital of Learning Communities by Using an Ad Hoc Transient Communities Service. In M. Spaniol, Q. Li, R. Klamma & R. W. H. Lau (Eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Conference Advances in Web-based Learning - ICWL 2009 (pp. 150-157). August, 19-21, 2009, Aachen, Germany. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 5686; Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.In online learning, communities can help to enhance learning. However, because of the dynamic nature of communities, attaining and sustaining these communities can be difficult. One aspect that has an influence on, and is influenced by these dynamics is the social capital of a community. Features of social capital are the social network structure, the sense of belonging and, the support received and provided. It is hypothesized that these features can be improved by using Ad Hoc Transient Communities (AHTCs). Through an AHTC learners are brought together for a specific, learning-related goal (‘ad hoc’) and for only a limited amount of time (‘transience’). To test whether the use of AHTCs has a positive influence on the social capital, a learner support service which enables the use of AHTCs is proposed. Furthermore, requirements, pre-requisites, and future research are discussed.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org

Communication and learning: Social networking platforms for higher education

This study explored the use of social networks specifically for general communication and learning in higher education. The types of social networks used by most students in higher education were identified before examining the difficulties faced by these students in handling social networks. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through survey distribution to several faculties. The results indicate the use of WhatsApp as the preferred application by students. In general, the major difficulties faced by these students in using social networks were misunderstanding and a lack of internet connection. Most suggestions for future social network features were for the design of an application which offers ease of use for general communication and learning purpose which has a high storage capacity, links to an educational portal and comes with a good internet connection service. In summary, WhatsApp is currently a priority for communication among these students and is, therefore, a preferred platform for the development of effective learning applications

Social media for informal learning usage in Malaysia: barriers and benefits

Social media (SM) tools have turned into a vital aspect of our day to day activities. As of late, this form of media has garnered a large set of users. There is perceived usefulness on the effect of SM on certain aspect of scholarly activities. However, it is still not clear why some researchers fail to adopt SM for informal learning (IL). The aim of this study is to investigate the barriers and benefits of using SM for IL among Malaysian academic researchers. A total of 170 responses were received through paper-based and online-based questionnaire. To demonstrate the results in this study, a descriptive interpretation of the responses is conducted. The general discovery of this study indicates that lack of encouragement from colleagues, lack of quality information, threat to research materials and data are the barriers affecting SM usage among academic researcher in Malaysia. Additionally, the core benefits of using SM among academic researchers in Malaysia is to communicate with colleagues, share knowledge with other researchers and to also collaborate in the research field