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Learning in a Digital World pp 135–153Cite as

Promoting Online Learning Community with Identity Transparency

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Part of the book series: Smart Computing and Intelligence ((SMCOMINT))

Abstract

This book chapter is a synthesis of several empirical user studies of online learners enrolled in degree-earning educational programs. Our findings are drawn from interviews with both online students and instructors, regarding their perceptions and strategies of fostering an online community of learners. In contrast to traditional formal education that takes place in a residential campus, or informal learning communities that are often light-weight and transient, we have been studying the nature and role of community within the growing arena of online education. In this chapter, we present and discuss our findings from multiple standpoints, offering design implications that might help designers of information systems to support socially mediated learning experiences, especially with regards to online students’ identity cues.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the many students of World Campus who responded to the survey, and instructors who either participated in our interview study, or helped recruit participants in their classes. This research was partially supported by a Research Initiation Grant from Penn State’s Center for Online Innovation and Learning, and by the College of Information Sciences and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Information Sciences and Technology, Pennsylvania State University, 332 Info Science and Tech, E363 Westgate Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Na Sun

  2. College of Information Sciences and Technology, Pennsylvania State University, 332 Info Science and Tech, E397F Westgate Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Mary Beth Rosson

  3. College of Information Sciences and Technology, Pennsylvania State University, 332 Info Science and Tech, E319 Westgate Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    John M. Carroll

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  1. Na Sun
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  2. Mary Beth Rosson
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  3. John M. Carroll
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Correspondence to Na Sun .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Carlos III University of Madrid , Leganés, Spain

    Paloma Díaz

  2. Cyprus University of Technology , Lemesos, Cyprus

    Andri Ioannou

  3. Centre for Educational Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India

    Kaushal Kumar Bhagat

  4. University of North Texas , Denton, TX, USA

    J. Michael Spector

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Sun, N., Rosson, M.B., Carroll, J.M. (2019). Promoting Online Learning Community with Identity Transparency. In: Díaz, P., Ioannou, A., Bhagat, K., Spector, J. (eds) Learning in a Digital World. Smart Computing and Intelligence. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8265-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8265-9_7

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