1. Teacher Education Investigates MERLOT
Factors that Influence Online Communities
MERLOT International Conference
August 3-6, 2004
Costa Mesa, California USA

2. Research Questions
What elements assist in building and sustaining an online community?
Should access to shared online resources be controlled?

3. Whittaker, Isaacs, and O’Day, 1997
Shared goals, interests, needs, or purpose.
Shared context (conventions, language, protocols).
Reciprocity of information, support, and services.
Repeated active participation, commitment.
Strong ties and supports among participants.
Policies to determine access to shared resources.

4. Community Design On-going and sustained interactions.
Shared purpose or goals.
Shared resources with policies to control access.
Reciprocity of information, support, services.
Protocols or conventions to establish strong ties among participants.

5. Study Design

6. Years of MERLOT Involvement

7. Initial vs. Continued Participation
first motivated you reason for persistence

8. Keys to Productivity

9. Impediments to Productivity

10. How work gets done

11. Frequency of Contact

12. Editorial Board Characteristics

13. Benefits of Participation

14. Design Principles
Activity and Object Building – allowing users to have their own space to construct and modify objects (assignments, reviews)
Navigation – ease in maneuvering and using various sites within MERLOT
Culture and Policies – sharing resources, help documents
Whittaker, Isaacs, & O’Day, 1997

15. Control access to Resources?
MERLOT is not a good to consume
No system to monitor and sanction behaviors
No threat of loss or scarcity
Capacity of growing but not diminishing
Distributive leadership
Material resources (time, learning objects)
Human capital (skills and abilities)
Social capital (collective value of network, relations built on trust and collaboration)

16. Challenge sustains the MERLOT Community
Reciprocity
Repeated active participation, persistence
Personal contact for strong and collegial ties among the participants
Benefits outweigh costs
Time
Lack of professional reward

17. Emergent Themes Shared goals and commitment Leadership support
Collegiality and networking
Trust and commitment for productivity
Lack of professional recognition for time commitment
Distributed leadership without policing or sanctions

18. Round Table
Are you a Cyber-Groupie?