Title: Design of a pedagogical model to promote knowledge generation in virtual communities

Authors: Sara Redondo-Duarte; Antonio Sánchez-Mena; Enrique Navarro-Asencio; Sandra Gutiérrez Vega

Addresses: Research Center on Education, Universidad Europea de Madrid (España), c/ Tajo, s/n, 28670 Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid, Spain ' Human Resources Department, General Elio, 8 s/n 46010, Universidad Europea de Valencia, Valencia, Spain ' Department of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (España), c/ Rector Royo Villanova, s/n 28040 Madrid, Spain ' Department of Student Services, Universidad Europea de Madrid (España), c/ Tajo, s/n, 28670 Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid, Spain

Abstract: This article presents a pedagogical model specifically designed to encourage the generation of shared knowledge among participants in a virtual community and the process followed to develop it. The model is based on three pillars: 1) structured learning resources that allow individual and collaborative work by the user; 2) game mechanics that increase participation in the community; 3) dynamisation of the community by the community manager or facilitator. The model was developed starting with a literature review of open learning systems, and specifically, massive online open courses. This review served as a basis to design a specific tool to assess these courses and identify best practices. The tool was subjected to an inter-rater evaluation process prior to its application.

Keywords: pedagogical models; virtual communities; massive online open courses; MOOC; best practices; gamification; learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLT.2017.083998

International Journal of Learning Technology, 2017 Vol.12 No.1, pp.3 - 25

Published online: 30 Apr 2017 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article