Title: Design for co-moderation in online learning communities

Authors: Urban Carlén; Berner Lindström

Addresses: School of Humanities and Informatics, University of Skövde, P.O. Box 408, SE 541 28 Skövde, Sweden. ' Department of Education, Communication and Learning, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 300, SE 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract: The aim of this article is to generate implications for organising co-moderation within online learning communities (OLCs) in higher education. Data have been collected from a larger empirical study of a professional OLC in general medicine. By using a social perspective on learning, undertaken as a transactional approach, co-moderation can be understood in shared actions, independently of roles. Results indicate how conditions for organising co-moderation emerge as a collaborative affair, by shifting the focus away from the moderator role towards continual discussions on how to participate online. The implications guide organisers and participants of OLCs to create co-moderation that maintains engagement. As students make progress in learning and online participation, they need to continually negotiate their involvement in such a way that further realises the contract created at the beginning of the course.

Keywords: co-moderation; general practice; GPs; medicine; healthcare; higher education; online learning communities; OLCs; web based communities; online communities; virtual communities; university students.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2012.049557

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2012 Vol.8 No.4, pp.408 - 421

Published online: 20 Aug 2014 *

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