The Role Of Participant Discourse In Online Community Formation

Online communities are developing rapidly on the Internet and they are as diverse as the men and women that inhabit them. The unveiling of the individual realities, the exchange of experiences, the roles that emerge from the constant interaction and the formation of identities, or online personae, are only some of the extraordinary aspects that characterize these virtual environments. An online group becomes a community only when and if it is motivated by a common aim and purpose. In the case study presented in this book, the purpose is the learning process itself. The participants of the online communities have convened online to learn how to become e-moderators, a relatively new profession that has become crucial in the e-educational arena. The book also emphasizes the role of the Internet and its online communities in providing new learning opportunities for many who cannot attend full-time, residential training sessions or higher education courses. Web-based course delivery affords these students and professionals the opportunity to work together, ‘anytime, anywhere’, exchanging information, resources, expertise, without leaving their homes or their jobs. This discussion is brought to light by the analysis and interpretation of a series of discourse behaviours manifested by the participants during their daily conferencing interactions, as they were intent on becoming a community of practice.