An examination of frameworks and knowledge construction in online communities

Date

2014-08

Contributor

Advisor

Department

Instructor

Depositor

Speaker

Researcher

Consultant

Interviewer

Narrator

Transcriber

Annotator

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

[Honolulu] : [University of Hawaii at Manoa], [August 2014]

Volume

Number/Issue

Starting Page

Ending Page

Alternative Title

Abstract

The 21st century has been profoundly shaped by rapidly developing technologies, interdependent economies and dynamic workplace expectations. In a real sense, the new normal is constant change. Schools are being asked to transform and there has never been a more dynamic expectation of teachers as professionals to adapt and grow. New technologies provide teachers a means to grow through online communities of practice. This ethnographic case study first examined how teachers build knowledge and looked at the contribution of online communities. In order to understand the knowledge building that was occurring in these online communities, the textual records were analyzed utilizing computer mediated discourse analysis (CMDA). In this study, three instruments were applied to a community of educators with 22 conversations over 17 months. These instruments were analyzed both separately and together to see what they revealed about the community's progress. Early conversations were compared to later ones to examine the role of time. These instruments viewed the community's textual record through the three frameworks of interaction, social learning, and knowledge building. The findings indicated each of the instruments by themselves exposed different views of knowledge building that occurred, but it was when they were compared and contrasted that the deeper, nuanced story of knowledge construction was revealed. The implications from this study lead to a better understanding of how and why CMDA instrumentation illuminates the workings of a community more powerfully through multiple lenses and provides researchers with both clearly defined processes and directions for future studies.

Description

Ph.D. University of Hawaii at Manoa 2014.
Includes bibliographical references.

Keywords

Computer mediated discourse analysis

Citation

Extent

Format

Geographic Location

Time Period

Related To

Theses for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (University of Hawaii at Manoa). Education.

Related To (URI)

Table of Contents

Rights

All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.

Rights Holder

Local Contexts

Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.