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creates and improves the system being used and the
format of the discussion tool and site. The thriving
community enables its members to carry out all
the functions of life which includes areas such as
studying a specific topic, reading and discussing
what others are also doing or writing to colleagues.
These can be developed to each individual's highest
potential. Participation of the members is critical
for the success of the community. This becomes a
conceptual tool for understanding the learning in
community and for members to engage in learning.
Without active participation learning would not hap-
pen. Participation becomes the framework around
which the community is built, no matter what the
content or subject. What does participation look
like in a virtual community?
Participation means:
brings them closer together through a set of shared
understandings. Without good communication
the members cannot develop the connections
and closeness that can move the members from
being task oriented to being community oriented.
It can be the role of the community leader or even
that of all its members to engage themselves and
others in active communication. This can be done
through the posting of questions for the members
to respond to or the clarification of others' post-
ings as well as being able to direct others through
a given topic and to a conclusion.
With all this in mind, one needs to realize
that a community is not categorized or described
only as a set of representatives but is expanded to
include the cultural and geographic backgrounds
of the members. Community becomes a process
where its members want to participate individu-
ally as well as collectively for diverse purposes
such as establishing policy and practice around
a particular area of interest.
1.
Engagement with others and generating the
ideas around which discussion will be formed
or will be continued;
2.
Members will create their own meanings to
dialogue issues and will take actions based on
the context of the topics being discussed;
future trenDS
3.
Shared ownership in the discussion and
topic;
Putting a new concept into practice is a challenge.
Creating an active and effective virtual environ-
ment is difficult. Many of the earlier online com-
munities got off to a rocky start. The earlier online
communities depended on e-mail and hand-held
devices. We are moving quickly through a tech-
nology age that no longer binds us to the basic
areas of technology where community members
can interact. Despite its newness and perhaps be-
cause of it, connecting to peers through Facebook,
MySpace and other online social networks has
become the norm for today's society around the
globe. These are considered to be social networks.
It is predicted that more than 85 percent of the
students at college campuses who have Facebook
accounts use this as their primary way of being
connected to the members of this virtual com-
munity (Eberhardt, 2007). Even before entering
college it is not uncommon for people to have
4.
Everyone who is in the community knows
something about the topic and can contrib-
ute to the evolution of the dialogue;
5.
Honoring the contributions of the others in
the community; and
6.
Everyone will be involved in defining and
resolving issues that may arise.
Ultimately participation needs to be nurtured
by all who have membership in a given commu-
nity. If this is done effectively and with careful
consideration of the others in the group, this can
reduce the distance between the status markers
and the geographic barriers of members. With
active participation the members own the ideas
and actions of the community.
Active communication is a key component
of community because the dialogue people use
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