Title: Cooperation and participation in online education: social presence in collective writing environments

Authors: Patrícia Brandalise Scherer Bassani; Débora Nice Ferrari Barbosa

Addresses: Feevale University, ERS 239, 2755, CEP 93352-000, Novo Hamburgo, RS, Brazil ' Feevale University, ERS 239, 2755, CEP 93352-000, Novo Hamburgo, RS, Brazil

Abstract: Recent studies have shown that social presence is a central concept in online education. Interactions enhance social presence, which is characterised by the potential of participation, involvement and visibility of individuals in relation to themselves, to others and to the environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify social presence in a collective writing environment, Wikispaces. The 3C model, which guides the design and implementation of collaborative systems, was used for analyses. Results showed that the awareness element of model 3C is fundamental for the identification of social presence in a collective space.

Keywords: social presence; distance learning; online education; cooperation; participation; collective writing environments; web based communities; virtual communities; online communities; e-learning; electronic learning; Wikispaces; awareness; 3C model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWBC.2013.057207

International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2013 Vol.9 No.4, pp.434 - 447

Published online: 30 Jan 2014 *

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