Distributed Knowledge Construction in an Online Community of Inquiry

This paper examines sustained, socially-situated engagement in online learning communities. We propose three levels of engagement that are examined through an empirical study of joint knowledge construction in an online community of inquiry. We find that the social, informational, and/or pedagogical content of peer-interaction is related to specific types of problem-structure and its relationship to learner experience. We discuss online course design indicators, based on the social engagement construct.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: HICSS
• Authors: James Waters, Susan Gasson
• Keywords: Biometrics, HICSS 2007, Online Learning Communities, Social Engagement Construct, Socially-situated Engagement, System Sciences