Poster #14 - Foundations of Community on an Online, Asynchronous Professional Development Website

• In Event: 28.093 - MTCC Poster Session Five
  In Poster Session: 28.093-1 - Section 8 Poster Session 1

Abstract

Having a sense of community has been a cornerstone to success in face-to-face and online learning environments. This study examines how elementary school teachers view community within the Everyday Mathematics Virtual Learning Community (VLC), a National Science Foundation-funded site with approximately 50,000 members. Specifically, we investigate 1) whether members think there is a community within the VLC and 2) why they think a community exists or does not exist. Understanding users’ perceptions of community has the potential to inform strategies to strengthen the community not only within the VLC but also within similar online teacher professional development (OTPD) sites (e.g., the Teaching Channel, Math Forum, INDISCHOOL).

Authors

• Genevieve Marie Henricks, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Victoria Jay, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Shereen Oca Beilstein, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Michelle Perry, University of Illinois

• Meg Bates, University of Chicago

• Cheryl Moran, University of Chicago

• Joseph P Cimpian, NYU