Villanova University launched its online Master of Public Administration (MPA) program in fall 2012, in which students from across the country, and in some instances the world, engage in video-based e-learning modules. As the first group of students completed the program, the project detailed in this article traced the evolution of written chatroom comments over the course of several terms. By closely analyzing these written comments, along with data from an anonymous exit survey, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of virtual learning communities and online education in public administration. Building on Haythornthwaite’s (2001a) work, this study shows how group members engage in multiple types of interaction and use one particular medium—the chatroom—in support of multiple communication goals during two 8-week courses.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllenE.SeamanJ. (2013). Changing course: Ten years of tracking online education in the United States (Babson Survey Research Group Report). Retrieved from http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/changing_course_2012.
2.
AndrewsR.HaythornthwaiteC.. (2007). Introduction to e-learning research. London, England: Sage.
3.
AshforthB. E.HarrisonS. H.CorleyK. G. (2008). Identification in organizations: An examination of four fundamental questions.Journal of Management, 34(3), 325–374.
4.
BartleyS. J.GolekJ. H. (2004). Evaluating the cost effectiveness of online and face-to-face instruction.Educational Technology and Society, 7(4), 167–175.
5.
BowerJ. L.ChristensenC. M. (1995). Disruptive technologies: Catching the wave.Harvard Business Review, 73(1), 43–53.
6.
BradnerE.KelloggW. A.EricksonT. (1999). The adoption and use of Babble: A field study of chat in the workplace. In Proceedings of the 6th European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (pp. 139–158). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.
7.
BurnettK.BonniciL. J.MiksaS. D.KimJ. (2007). Frequency, intensity, and topicality in online learning: An exploration of the interaction dimensions that contribute to student satisfaction in online learning.Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 48(1), 21–35.
8.
CheneyG.ChristensenL. (2001). Organizational identity: Linkages between internal and external communication. In JablinF.PutnamL., The new handbook of organizational communication (pp. 231–270). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
9.
CheneyG.TompkinsP. K. (1987). Coming to terms with organizational identification and commitment.Central States Speech Journal, 38(1), 1–15.
10.
ChristensenC. (2013, February 12). Clayton Christensen wants to transform capitalism. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/02/mfclayton-christensen-wants-to-transform-capitalism/all.
11.
CothrelJ.WilliamsR. L. (1999). On-line communities: Helping them form and grow.Journal of Knowledge Management, 3(1), 54–60.
12.
DaviesJ.GraffM. (2005). Performance in e-learning: Online participation and student grades.British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(4), 657–663.
13.
Department of Public Administration. (2015). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/publicadmin.html.
14.
EllisD. G. (1992). From language to communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
15.
FairhurstG. T.JordanJ. M.NeuwirthK. (1997). Why are we here? Managing the meaning of an organizational mission statement.Journal of Applied Communication Research, 25(4), 243–263.
16.
FarnsworthK.BevisT. B. (2006). A fieldbook for community college online instructors. Washington, DC: Community College Press.
17.
FerrallV. E. (2011). Liberal arts at the brink. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
18.
GranovetterM. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties.American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380.
19.
HamptonK.WellmanB. (2003). Neighboring in Netville: How the Internet supports community and social capital in a wired suburb.City and Community, 2(4), 277–311.
20.
HaythornthwaiteC. (2000). Online personal networks: Size, composition, and media use among distance learners.New Media and Society, 2(2), 195–226.
21.
HaythornthwaiteC. (2001a). Exploring multiplexity: Social network structures in a computer-supported distance learning class.Information Society, 17, 211–226.
22.
HaythornthwaiteC. (2001b). Introduction: The internet in everyday life.American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 363–382.
23.
HaythornthwaiteC. (2001c). Social networks and internet connectivity effects.Information, Communication, and Society, 8(2), 125–147.
24.
HaythornthwaiteC. (2002). Building social networks via computer networks: Creating and sustaining distributed learning communities. In RenningerK. A.SchumanW., Building virtual communities: Learning and change in cyberspace. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 159–190.
25.
HaythornthwaiteC. (2008). Learning relations and networks in web-based communities, International Journal of WebBased Communities, 4(2), 140–158.
26.
HaythornthwaiteC.KazmerM. M.RobinsJ.ShoemakerS. (2000). Community development among distance learners: Temporal and technological dimensions.Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 6(1). doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2000.tb00114.x.
27.
HiltzS. R.TuroffM. (2005). Education goes digital: The evolution of online learning and the revolution in higher education.Communication of ACM, 48(10), 59–64.
28.
HrastinskiS. (2006). Introducing an informal synchronous medium in a distance learning course: How is participation affected?Internet and Higher Education, 9, 117–131.
29.
HrastinskiS. (2008). The potential of synchronous communication to enhance participation in online discussions: A case study of two e-learning courses.Information and Management, 45, 499–506.
30.
LincolnY. S.GubaE. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. London: Sage.
31.
LiuX.MagjukaR. J.BonkC. J.LeeS. H. (2007). Does sense of community matter? An examination of participants’ perceptions of building learning communities in online courses.Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 8(1), 9–24.
32.
LockJ. V. (2002). Laying the groundwork for the development of learning communities within online courses.Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 3(4), 395–408.
33.
Master of Public Administration. (2015). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://www.villanovau.com/programs/graduate/mpa-degree-online.
34.
MisanchukM.AndersonT. (2002, April). Building community in an online learning environment: Communication, cooperation, and collaboration. Paper presented at the Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference. Retrieved from the Learning and Technology Library: https://www.learntechlib.org/p/93159.
35.
MooreM. G. (1989). Three types of interaction.American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1–7.
36.
OrlikowskiW. J. (1992). The duality of technology: Rethinking the concept of technology in organizations.Organization Science, 3(3), 398–427.
37.
PetersO. (1967). Distance education and industrial production: A comparative interpretation in outline. In SewartD.KeeganD.HolmbergB., Distance education: International perspectives (pp. 95–113). London, England: Croom Helm; New York, NY: Routledge.
38.
RheingoldH. (1993). The virtual community: Homesteading on the virtual frontier. New York: Addison-Wesley.
39.
RussoT.KoestenJ. (2005). Prestige, centrality, and learning: A social network analysis of an online class.Communication Education, 54(3), 254–261.
40.
SchwierR. A. (2001). Catalysts, emphases, and elements of virtual learning communities: Implication for research.Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 2(1), 5–18.
41.
ScottC. R.CormanS. R.CheneyG. (1998). Development of a structurational model of identification in the organization.Communication Theory, 8(3), 298–336.
42.
SelznickP. (1996). In search of community. In VitekW.JacksonW., Rooted in the land: Essays on community and place (pp. 195–203). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
43.
SmallF.DowellD.SimmonsP. (2012). Teacher communication preferred over peer interaction: Student satisfaction with different tools in a virtual learning environment.Journal of International Education in Business, 5(2), 114–128.
44.
SolnitR. (2009). A paradise built in hell: The extraordinary communities that arise in disaster. New York, NY: Viking Press.
45.
StraussA. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
46.
StraussA.CorbinJ.. (1997). Grounded theory in practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
47.
VygotskyL. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
48.
WarschauerM. (1997). Computer-mediated collaborative learning: Theory and practice.Modern Language Journal, 8(4), 470–481.
49.
WellmanB. (1997). An electronic group is virtually a social network. In KieslerS., Culture of the Internet (pp. 179–205). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
50.
WellmanB.HaythornthwaiteC. (2002). The Internet in everyday life. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell.
51.
WellmanB.Quan-HaaseA.BoaseJ.ChenW.HamptonK.DíazI.et al. (2003). The social affordances of the Internet for networked individualism.Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 8(3). Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol8/issue3/wellman.html.
