Scattered Pepper Thoughts

Good that Ma'am Jean decided to support my change of topic and change of plan.
She also put emphasis on quali research as searching for 'meanings'.

Putting here my initial ideas:
Aims of the Study:
--to narrate the development of UPOU Community site
-to describe the nature of online usage among adult-member-learners
-to draw out valuable roles and future goals of the site in building a true sense of community among its current and prospective members it hopes to reach

Research Questions:

Research Questions:1) How does the UPOU Community Site continue to evolve as a tool/ platform among adult learners of the UP Open University?2) How do current adult members make use of this site as a tool/ platform to meet their ends?3) What future potential and possibilites can this virtual community take in order to encourage engagements from the wider population of adult learners of the UP Open University?

Draft Abstract:
The UP Open University is a university with geographically dispersed students from diverse backgrounds. It maintains a virtual learning community which caters to adult learners in the graduate and undergraduate levels. Alongside engagement in these online academic courses, students also engage in virtual communities. One distinct virtual community is the UPOU Community Site, developed and maintained by a faculty member of the university. Though considered as an unofficial site, this virtual community is currently used by a small but mixed group of students and faculty members who care enough to maximize it as a tool/ platform for program improvements, community building activities and online socialization. This paper narrates the development of a virtual community site from 3 perspectives: a faculty-member-site moderator, 3 student-adult learners, a faculty member-program chair. Through this site, members have managed to sustain engagements which spill over online and off line experiences alongside their academic responsibilities as members of the UPOU community. This paper examines how members engage in this virtual community to meet certain ends: academic, and interactive. The paper significantly surfaces nuances, potential and possibilities among its end users. It recommends possible roles members can take in order to facilitate and sustain engagements in the light of building a true sense of community amongst the larger population of UPOU adult learners it hopes to reach.