An examination of frameworks and knowledge construction in online communities

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.