I am still awaiting for any response though I got an initial heads up...that YES he is willing to write this paper with me.
I tweaked the first version of the abstract based on Primo's suggestions.
Here goes:
Brief Intro to UPOU
The University of the Philippines Open University is the first tertiary level institution which caters to ______________________________
It maintains an online learning community of adult learners in the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Brief Intro: The UPOU Community Site
Alongside engagement in these online academic courses, students also engage in virtual communities outside their virtual course sites. One distinct virtual community is the UPOU Community Site, developed and maintained by a faculty member of the university.
This site aims to____________________________
It was created solely for___________________________
Though considered as an unofficial site, this virtual community is currently used by a mixed group of students and faculty members who care enough to maximize it as a tool and platform for program improvements, community building activities and virtual interaction.
What the paper intends to do:
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. This select group of community members have managed to sustain online engagements with fellow students through this site. This paper examines how members find meaning and relevance to their identities as members of the UP Open University through this virtual community. The paper describes how site users engage in this virtual community to meet certain ends: academic, and interactive. It also looks into how the virtual community supports other online and offline experiences adult learners are initiating to build a sense of community alongside academic responsibilities as members of the UPOU community.
The Paper's potential contribution
The paper significantly surfaces nuances, potential and possibilities for this virtual community to contribute to an evolving community of practice in the UP Open University. Maintaining a virtual community outside online course sites is valuable to these adult learners as they search for their identity and sense of belonging within the university. Through the UPOU Community Site, ongoing virtual exchanges go beyond the usual academic work and student affairs. Faculty members and students are able to express their online selves and eventually nurture genuine connections with each other. The paper suggests possible goals and roles active members can take in order to sustain engagements among users and continue to build connections with the larger population of UPOU adult learners it hopes to reach.
As follows is crude outline of prospective portions of the paper.
Intro:
-the place of virtual community in an online learning environment of adult learners
-the UPOU community (stats)
Background:
-a narration of the development UPOU Community site
Statement of Aims
-to describe how adult learners of UPOU make use of UPOU Community Site
-to examine meanings attached by adult learners to this virtual community vis a vis a growing sense of community
-to investigate the whether in fact there is a growing sense of community among current site users
-to draw out important recommendations in order for members to sustain engagement in this site and build connections with the larger population the virtual community hopes to reach
Research Questions:
-How do adult learners make use of the UPOU Community Site?
-What does this virtual community mean to active users of the site?
-Does this site truly contribute to adult learners' sense of community?
-In what ways can it work towards building a community of practice in UPOU?
Methodology
-quali
-phenomenology
-interpretive-critical
Theoretical Frame:
-community of practice
-sense of community
-online self
-virtual community
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