In this paper, we draw on Actor-Network Theories (ANT) to explore how material components functioned to create gateways and barriers to a virtual learning network in the context of a professional development module in higher education. Students were practitioners engaged in family learning in different professional roles and contexts. The data…

In this article I report the findings of a descriptive and interpretative qualitative study carried out in a public school in Bogotá, Colombia. The study aimed at analyzing, describing and exploring teenage students' social identity representation as observed in their participation in a learning community on Facebook. Data were collected from…

Membership in social networking sites is increasing rapidly. Social networking sites serve many purposes including networking, communication, recruitment, and sharing knowledge. Social networking sites, public or private, may be hosted on applications such as Facebook and LinkedIn. As individuals begin to follow and participate in social…

This paper relates developments in the use of Internet-based communication technologies to contemporary exchanges of geographical ideas and content. A brief history of the Internet provides the basis for a review of uses of broadband Internet in contemporary Geography. Two themes are explored: the first is the concept of virtual communities of…

This study provides a simultaneous examination of all components of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000; Anderson, Rourke, Garrison & Archer, 2001; and Rourke, Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999) and seeks to extend previous work into the nature, development, and relationships between the constructs of…

Introduction: Virtual communities play an important role in innovation. The paper focuses on the particular form of collective action in virtual communities underlying as Open Source software development projects. Method: Building on resource mobilization theory and private-collective innovation, we propose a theory of collective action in…