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Engagement and knowledge sharing in a virtual learning community

Ben K. Daniel and Richard A. Schwier


Virtual Learning Community Research Laboratory
Educational Communications and Technology
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada S7N 0K1
richard.schwier@usask.ca, ben.daniel@usask.ca

Cite as: Daniel, B.K., & Schwier, R.A. (2007). Engagement and knowledge sharing in a
virtual learning community. In C. Montgomerie & J. Seale (Eds.), Proceedings of
ED-Media 2007 (pp. 639-646). Cheseapeake, VA: Association for the
Advancement of Computing in Education.

Abstract: The notion of knowledge sharing in virtual learning communities is critical but hardly researched. This
paper identifies the process involved in sharing knowledge and the types of knowledge sharing objects that are
exchanged in virtual learning communities. Using social network indices, our goal is first to understand the flow of
information through assessment of the extent to which learners interact with each other individually and as a
community. Then we examine and categorize the content of information exchanged using content analysis techniques. A
taxonomy showing the relationships between the different types of knowledge shared in the community is described. We
suggest that the results of this research can enable us to think about different ways of supporting the process of
knowledge sharing and discourse leading to effective learning and knowledge sharing in virtual learning communities
in higher education.

1. Introduction
One of the most important variables describing learning activities in virtual learning communities is
knowledge sharing (Daniel, Schwier & Ross, 2005). The term knowledge sharing implies giving and
receiving information within a context that includes knowledge of the source. In virtual learning
communities what constitutes knowledge sharing objects and the processes involved in sharing are open
questions that have received little attention to date. We contend that knowledge-sharing activities in virtual
learning communities require critical analysis of the flow of information and knowledge, and the
identification of knowledge sharing objects exchanged in these communities.
Drawing from knowledge management research, we first explore knowledge sharing in virtual
learning communities. Second we employ social network techniques to visualize patterns of interactions
between learners. We then propose a knowledge sharing taxonomy to help us understand different types of
knowledge sharing activities in virtual learning communities. Third, we use content analysis to examine the
types and content of knowledge sharing activities taking place in a virtual learning community and discuss
their implications to supporting knowledge sharing in virtual learning communities.

2. Related work
Knowledge management researchers make a clear distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge
(Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Explicit knowledge typically refers to knowledge that is easily documented,
shared, public and social; whereas tacit knowledge is personal, resides in the human mind, behavior and
perception, and is generally difficult to share (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Dixon, 2002). Nonaka and
Takeuchi (1995) outlined a model of explicit and tacit knowledge, which illustrates how tacit knowledge
can be transferred between individuals by observing a person perform a task (tacit to tacit). Tacit
knowledge can also be transformed into explicit knowledge through externalization by discussing and
documenting the knowledge. Similarly, explicit knowledge can be transferred across an organization
(explicit to explicit) through the flow of printed and electronic documents.
Despite an increasing number of studies about knowledge management practices, knowledge-sharing
mechanisms in general are not well understood (Bechina, 2006; De Long, 2000). We confine our research
within virtual learning communities and other kinds of technology mediated communities (such as
distributed communities practice). Our initial observations reveal that tacit and explicit knowledge are
common to all kinds of virtual communities but the protocol for sharing differs from one community to
another. For instance, in virtual learning communities, the knowledge sharing process can involve
continuous engagement in discourse with others in the community in a particular context, so the distinction
between knowledge, information and data is also context dependent. For instance, when people exchange
data, the data is processed into information. In turn, information can be situated in a particular context and
turned into knowledge for a particular individual. Both information and knowledge are grounded in data.
Knowledge enables us to interpret information (i.e., derive meaning from data). The interpretation of
meaning is framed by the perceiver’s knowledge. So what one person perceives as information can be
meaningless data to another (Daniel, Schwier & McCalla, 2003). Further, how specific knowledge is
generated from data and information depends on how the data are stored, and how information is presented,
organized, communicated and received by particular individuals in a particular community.

3. Research context and results


When dealing with representations it is obvious that different representations can enhance the
understanding level of a particular problem (Tufte, 1990). The form of representation makes a dramatic
difference in the ease of the task and its proper choice depends upon the knowledge and the method being
applied to the problem (Norman, 1993). This work aims to demonstrate how we can analyze the flow of
information in a virtual learning community with the aim of understanding knowledge sharing activities.
We employ social network analysis to understanding the patterns of interactions between individuals and
their central relative importance in the network. Visualization offers advantages and opportunities when we
deal with complex data sets, ill structured and dynamic information, and the kind of settings that
characterize actual data sets in virtual learning community. Since visualization itself does not reveal actual
content of interaction, we use content analysis to synthesize the actual nature of knowledge sharing
activities and categorize them into knowledge objects.
These analyses draw from three years of online communication among groups of graduate students
in Educational Communications and Technology as they participated in seminars. The classes spanned an
academic year, and were small graduate seminars with enrolments from six to thirteen students, and each
class met primarily online, but with monthly group meetings. While most students were able to attend the
group meetings regularly, every class cohort had members who participated exclusively or mostly from a
distance. A significant characteristic of both groups was that they were comprised almost exclusively of
Western, English-speaking graduate students, with the exception of one student from China. All of the
students exhibited facility with writing, and there was ample evidence that students were willing to engage
in academic argumentation with each other and with the instructor. It is possible, even likely, that our
findings are culturally bound, and so we caution the reader to confine interpretations to the context
described in this paper. Given the blended nature of all of the classes, we confine our conclusions to similar
environments, and acknowledge that these results cannot be generalized to environments that are entirely
online, or entirely face-to-face.

3.1 Social network analysis


Social network analysis (SNA) is a set of mathematical methods used to map and measures relationships
and flows between people groups, and information/knowledge. It is a set of individuals or groups who are
connected to one another through socially meaningful relationships (Freemen, 2004; Hanneman, & Mark,
2005). SNA views social relationships in terms of nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual actors within the
networks, and ties are the relationships between the actors. Further, SNA seeks to understand networks and
their participants and to evaluate the location of actors in the network. We have employed SNA to visualize
patterns of interactions between individuals in order to determine the flow of information and knowledge.
The visual representation was constructed out of a two-dimensional matrix (see figure 1).
Figure 1. Weighted binary matrix of engagement

The network is weighted (i.e., non-uniform) and non-symmetric and directed. This kind of a matrix is
the starting point for almost all network analysis, and is called an "adjacency matrix" because it represents
who is next to, or adjacent to whom in the "social space" mapped by the relations that we have measured.
An adjacency matrix may be "symmetric" or "asymmetric." We employed AGNA (Applied Graph &
Network Analysis) a platform-independent application designed for scientists and researchers who use
specific mathematical methods to investigate the flow of information in a network (Benta, 2005). We
generated a visual view of a network consisting of 15 nodes and 159 edges out of the matrix in figure 1 and
presented as a graph in figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Community visualization

In figure 2 the links indicate engagement between nodes (individuals) in the community. A single-
edge link suggests one-way communication (when A sends mail or a message to B but B did not respond to
A) while a double-edge link suggests two-ways communications. There are several measures employed in
social network analysis in degrees of betweenness, centrality, density and reception (see for example
Garton, Haythortonthwaite & Wellman, 1999). For our data set we calculated different SNA indices to
locate community and individual locations. The size of a network is the number of its nodes. A network is
valued (or weighted) when each of its edges has an associated numeric value and binary when its edges
merely reflect the presence of connections between nodes i.e. 0 for absence of connections and 1 for
presences of connections. In order to visualize the community we use density as an indicator of sense of a
community. A density of a network is the total number of edges divided by the number of all possible
edges in that network. For a weighted directed network the density is given by:

--…………………………………………….(i)

Where D is the density, L - the total number of edges in the network, g - the number of nodes and xij are the
matrix elements. We calculated the density of the network to be 0.75714284. Another important measure in
SNA is centrality. The degree of centrality of an actor is the most intuitive network conceptualization of
centrality, and it has a simple theoretical relationship with accuracy. The centrality of an individual is
simply the number of people that person is directly tied to and thus centrality is an actor-level coefficient
which reflects the degree of access to information (or resources) of an actor and hence the probability of
that actor to acquire a leadership position in the community (Benta, 2005).
A node with a high degree of centrality suggests a high proportion of connectivity with other nodes in
the network. The individuals levels of centrality is summarized in figure (3) using Bavelas-Leavitt
centrality measure of a node is the ratio of the sum of all of the shortest paths to and from that node to the
sum of all of the shortest paths in the entire network. Accordingly, B-L measures how close a node is to the
center of the graph of links in some notional space. For instance, by visually inspecting the network (see
figure 1) one can infer that Roller enjoys the most central position followed by Daisy and Hillary, while
Lindsey and Ross are less central to others in the network.

Roller
Ross
Robert
Lindsey
Justina
Joseph
Hillary
Nodes

Dena
Dickssy
Diane
Daisy
Debra
Bond
Merge
Jose

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
B-L Centrality values

Figure 3. Distribution of Bavelas-Leavitt Centrality in the network

In SNA the notion of degree suggests the number of connections an individual has in the network. The
number of arcs (links) beginning at a node is called the outdegree of the node. And they suggest
connections, and in our case initiation of engagement or discourse. Outdegree is measured as the row sum
for the node in a dichotomous matrix: outdegree of actor i = !j aij………………… (ii). the number of arcs
ending at a node is called the indegree of the node, indicating the reception of engagement. The column
sum (for a node) in a dichotomous matrix measures the indegree of the node: indegree of actor j = !i
aij…………… (iii). Wasserman and Faust (1994) suggested that a node is a transmitter if its indegree is zero
and its outdegree is non-zero.
A node is a receiver if its indegree is non-zero and its outdegree is zero, and it is isolated if both
indegree and outdegree are zero. Freemen outdegree and indegree measures are some of the most
commonly used degree of centrality used for various reasons. In this study we employed Freemen’s
indegree and outdegree measures to determine the number of connections among individuals in the
community in the community. In this case, indegree reveals the number of individuals who have read
messages in the community. Outdegree measures the number of messages an individual has sent to all other
individuals in the community. Meanwhile, the total number of messages a person sent to members of the
community shows their outdegree centrality. Outdegree measure of a node in a weighted network of is the
sum of all values corresponding to the edges incident from it divided by the total number of nodes in the
network. And the mathematical expression is:

…………………………………………… (iv)

Where g is the number of nodes and xij are the sociomatrix elements. Indegree, on the other hand, shows
the number of messages a person has received from other members of the community. For a binary network,
the indegree** 1of a node is the total number of edges incident to it divided by the total number of nodes in
the network. For a weighted network, the indegree** of a node is the sum of all values corresponding to the
edges incident to it divided by the total number of nodes in the network. In both cases, the mathematical
expression is:

………………………………………….. (v)

Where g is the number of nodes and xji are the sociomatrix elements.

8
Outdegree and indegree values

5 Indegree
4 Outdegree

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Figure 4. Outdegree and indegree distribution

Theoretically, a central actor in a network is one involved in many relationships (Freeman, 1979;
Wasserman & Faust, 1994). The most commonly used measure of centrality, degree centrality, is defined as
the number of direct ties that an actor has with other actors in a network. Knoke (1990) asserts that network
centrality is synonymous with influence, for the extensive network ties empower central actors by giving
them greater access to and control over valuable information on conditions, opportunities, and constraints.
Actors on the peripheral of the network, on the other hand, are relegated to less influential positions
because of a lack of adequate quantities and qualities of information. Other researchers have similarly
pointed out that a positive association between centrality and influence or perceived influence (Brass, 1985;
Krackhardt, 1990). Burkhardt and Brass (1990) research established strong association between actor
centrality and perceived influence. They also demonstrated that centrality precedes influence rather than
vice versa in that being in a central position gives one access to people, information, and other resources
such that one becomes more influential (Brass & Burkhardt, 1993).

3.2 Knowledge sharing objects in virtual learning communities


Supporting knowledge sharing process in virtual learning communities requires research to be able to
identify different types of knowledge sharing objects and different ways in which knowledge can be shared
in these environments. Taxonomy provides useful insights into identification of knowledge objects shared
in virtual learning communities. Taxonomy is a hierarchical structure for organizing a body of concepts or
knowledge. Taxonomies are comprehensive framework grouping various components of knowledge or
information and describe how the various groups relate to each other. We draw on the categorization of
explicit vs. tacit to build taxonomy of knowledge sharing activities in virtual learning communities (see
figure 5).

1
AGNA is capable of different degrees of influence of a node in different types of graphs; weighted un-weighted,
directed, and undirected graphs. The types of indegree** and outdegree** are measures on weighted and directed
binary graph types.
Figure 5. Taxonomy of knowledge sharing objects

Beyond categorization and organization, the taxonomy provides the structure governing how different
types of knowledge sharing objects can inform us about the learning activities taking place in virtual
learning community. Taxonomy also provides pointers to human based expertise and knowledge. Using
taxonomy concepts or knowledge can classified based on observations or natural occurrences. However, a
major benefit of using taxonomy to categories knowledge sharing in virtual learning communities is that it
allows us to easily identify different types of knowledge sharing activities and suggest ways to support
them.

4 Content analysis
Content analysis enables researchers to include large amounts of textual information and systematically
identify its properties (e.g., the frequencies of certain groups of sentences and their meanings through
inferences and the detection of the more important structures of its communication content). Moreover, the
textual information being analyzed must be categorized according to a certain theoretical framework, which
will inform the data analysis, and finally yield a meaningful reading of the content under scrutiny. The
creation of coding frames is intrinsically related to a creative approach to variables that exert an influence
over textual content. For this study we used a coding framework which is based on semantic representation
of content (Daniel, McCalla, & Schwier, 2005).
The coding framework builds on a unit of meaning which is a constellation of words or statements that
relate to the same central meaning (Baxter, 1991). We consider meaning in a unit of discourse as words,
sentences or paragraphs containing aspects related to each other through their content and context.
Although our approach has not yet been tested for reliability, the coding scheme has evolved and was
negotiated among researchers. A main assumption underlying our coding approach is that data can be
interpreted in various ways and that understanding it is dependent on a subjective interpretation of the
content from which meaning is derived. Our analysis procedures involved compiling different pieces of
transcripts of interactions in the community, randomly selecting a sample of transcripts and reading the
transcripts to identity common themes and meaning within the body of the textual information, deriving
meaningful codes and assigning blocks of textual information to each code based on the meaning inferred
from the interaction. Figure 6 summarizes the frequencies of the knowledge objects shared in the virtual
learning community analyzed.
80

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Figure 6. Categories of knowledge objects shared and their frequencies

Data consists of facts and information. Information rooted in a particular context can be processed into
knowledge. The content categories of knowledge types follow within the two broad types of explicit and
tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is a subtle conception rooted in cognitive schemata referred to as “mental
models” and is rather difficult to articulate. It is highly personal and hard to formalize, making it difficult to
communicate or to share with others. Individual experiences, subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches
fall into this category of knowledge. Meanwhile explicit knowledge is made up of concepts, processes,
procedures, principles and they come in the form of tangible objects e.g. documents, articles, reports and
databases. Explicit knowledge is more easily transmitted as it is characteristically codified as such it is
more easily processed and shared with others (Nonaka et. al. 1995). Whether explicit or tacit, we suggest
that the process involved in knowledge sharing in virtual learning communities can be grounded on
conversation, argumentation, story telling and socialization.

5 Implications of knowledge sharing in virtual learning communities


Understanding the process of knowledge sharing within virtual learning is a serious concern in higher
education. More and more, institutions are becoming aware of the necessity to support virtual learning
communities as formal learning environments. The effectiveness of VLCs in enhancing learning depends
on the ability to support the culture of knowledge sharing among its participants. However, knowledge
sharing in these environments remains unknown. Social network approach is a useful approach for
analyzing the flow of information and knowledge in a virtual learning community. However, it is clear that
network properties are not enough to discover all the roles individuals can play in a social network.
Currently we are considering at the possibility of employing various social network metrics to understand
the flow of information and knowledge sharing in sparsely connected as opposed to densely connected
network. In this work we studied the flow of information in one virtual learning community in order to
understand the process involved in knowledge sharing and the kinds of knowledge objects being exchanged.
We believe that the knowledge sharing objects identified based on the dichotomy of tacit and explicit
knowledge can help use address some of the issues that are likely to appear in knowledge sharing activities.
Some initial pedagogical issues include instructional strategies and the role of instructor, the learning
environment and the technological tools to support knowledge sharing activities, and the learning styles of
the individuals involved. Additional issues that need to be addressed in knowledge sharing activities
include understanding what type of knowledge can be easily shared, why people are interested in engaging
in knowledge sharing, how knowledge is shared, and what are the rewards connected to sharing personal
knowledge.

6 Summary and future research agenda


Learning in most virtual learning communities today can involve learners collaborating together on projects,
independently and as a community. However, to effectively collaborate with each other and individually
learn, learners need to freely exchange information and share knowledge objects between themselves. This
would imply understanding the appropriate types of knowledge that needs to be shared and implementing
the approaches that can support the process of knowledge sharing. Unfortunately, knowledge sharing is a
context-embedded process making its measurement difficult. Bechina (2006) recently observed that there is
so far no standard method to measure the sharing process, the implications which can be even under virtual
and distributed circumstances. In this work we are investigating different ways of understanding the types
of knowledge objects shared in virtual communities, identifying the process involved in sharing them and
suggesting possible ways to support them. It was important to identify different types of knowledge objects
shared since knowledge sharing processes might be supported differently (Ardichvili, 2003).
Although work reported in this paper is still ongoing, the preliminary results has already given us an
understanding of the types of knowledge objects often shared in this virtual learning community and the
factors to consider when encouraging knowledge sharing. In principle, there are several issues that affect
knowledge sharing in virtual learning communities, including different forms of awareness, trust, cultural
diversity, language, individuals’ motivation and attitude towards sharing, rewards associated with sharing
and available tools and their usability. Space does not allow us to elaborate on each of these factors.
Nonetheless the fundamental issues for instructors are to thoroughly understand domain driven pedagogical
needs, learners, and tools available in the virtual environment. Such knowledge will enable them to set up
appropriate strategies that will facilitate knowledge sharing. In addition it is important to understand what
are the indicators facilitating or inhibiting the sharing process within individuals in a particular virtual
learning community. We are continuously analyzing data we have recently collected from an online survey
involving 29 participants and transcripts of their interactions to corroborate the results of the social network
and content analysis presented in this paper. We believe results of the analysis will enable us suggest
concrete ways to support knowledge sharing in virtual learning communities.

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