Based on a five-year ethnographic study of the activity of an online, international academic community of practice supported by ListServer technology, this article covers selective findings pertaining to patterns of communication deemed crucial to community building. Implications of learning and collegial support are discussed. (Author/AEF)

Discussion of computer-mediated communication in education focuses on online collaboration. Highlights include characteristics of a collaborative group, including participation, interaction, and interdependence; collaborative situations; non-collaborative groups, including cooperation without collaboration; factors that promote or inhibit…