ERIC Number: EJ1155097
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Oct
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0735-6331
EISSN: N/A
Social Presence and Transactional Distance as an Antecedent to Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Learning Communities
Karaoglan Yilmaz, Fatma Gizem
Journal of Educational Computing Research, v55 n6 p844-864 Oct 2017
Today, the use of social network-based virtual learning communities is increasing rapidly in terms of knowledge management. An important dynamic of knowledge management processes is the knowledge sharing behaviors (KSB) in community. The purpose of this study is to examine the KSB of the students in a Facebook-based virtual community created within the scope of a class in terms of their social presence (SP) and transactional distance (TD) perceptions. Both SP and TD are important factors in the creation of a community feeling and in the interaction of the participants, and it is believed that these two factors will effect KSB in virtual communities. Data were gathered from 217 university students by using three scales: the KSB scale, the SP scale (subdimensions: "interaction," "ownership," and "affective statements") and the TD scale (subdimensions: "student-student [S-S] interaction," "student-teacher [S-T] interaction," "student-content [S-C] interaction," "student-interface [S-I] interaction," and "student-environment [S-E] interaction"). The structural equation modeling showed that students' KSB were related to their SP and TD perceptions in the process of utilizing virtual learning communities. The results of the study indicate that each subdimension of SP and TD scales are significant predictors on KSB. Further researches and implications are explained and discussed.
Descriptors: Computer Simulation, Communities of Practice, Social Media, Computer Mediated Communication, Ownership, Student Attitudes, Structural Equation Models, Predictor Variables, Asynchronous Communication, Peer Relationship, Correlation, Undergraduate Students, Computer Science Education, Blended Learning, Foreign Countries, Teacher Student Relationship, Likert Scales, Statistical Analysis, Measures (Individuals), Path Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A