Home // COLLA 2015, The Fifth International Conference on Advanced Collaborative Networks, Systems and Applications // View article

Online Learning Community Software to Support Success in Project Teams

Authors:
Brian Thoms
Evren Eryilmaz

Keywords: social software, project management, wiki, online learning community

Abstract:
In this research we explore aspects of social interaction and community as they relate to success in project-based courses. Using specialized online community software consisting of social networking technologies and project-based wikis, project teams are able to collaborate and interact as they progress towards project milestones. Our study underscores the importance of sustained engagement as a means for fostering high levels of community and how these levels relate to project motivation and, ultimately, project success. Guided by a theoretical model that explains how individuals collaborate within online communities, we measure member perceptions of the software before and after our intervention. Survey results found that online learning community (OLC) software can successfully support learning and social interaction. These results are supported by a social network analysis (SNA), which shows high levels of individual engagement across the project lifecycle.

Pages: 17 to 26

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2015

Publication date: October 11, 2015

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4227

ISBN: 978-1-61208-436-7

Location: St. Julians, Malta

Dates: from October 11, 2015 to October 16, 2015