continuing collaborations across time and space · continuing collaborations across time and space...

Continuing

Collaborations

Across Time

and Space

Supporting the

Collaboration of

Environmental Knowledge

and Inquiry with

Technology

Jeremy F Price

Continuing Collaborations Across Time and Space Jeremy F Price

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Introduction

Technology-mediated communication and collaboration in the last decade has become

accepted, widespread, and much more sophisticated. As such, I built an online social network site for

use by the participants of the 2007 New England Workshop on Science and Social Change (Collaborative

generation of environmental knowledge and inquiry). boyd & Ellison (2007) define social network sites

as, “…web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a

bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and

traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.”

The social network site for the Workshop can be found at http://newssc07.ning.com/

(username: newsscguest; password: 123456). The social networking site was developed using the online

service Ning (http://www.ning.com). Ning is an ad- or subscription-supported online platform for

developing social networks. Various academic, science, and environmental groups have established a

presence on Ning, such as SciBog (http://scinet.ning.com/), Sustainability in Built Environment Education

Network (http://sbenet.ning.com/), and the Society for Applied Anthropology

(http://sfaanet.ning.com/).

The purposes for building this online social network site were to provide:

1. An online space for continued collaboration and communication after the Workshop in

Woods Hole, MA, had ended;

2. A forum for sharing the outcomes of the Workshop (curricular units, etc.);

3. Provide a model of what can be accomplished utilizing an online social networking site

in the ongoing teaching, collaboration, and work of the participants in the generation of

environmental knowledge and inquiry.

The online social bookmarking service Diigo (http://www.diigo.com/) and the online

collaborative mapping platform Tagzania (http://www.tagzania.com/) were used to extend the

capabilities of and provide content for the Ning-supported social network site.

Features

I developed the following framework in order to guide the development of the social network

site and the inclusion of features:


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Figure 1: Framework for contributing to the online social network-based collaborative process.

I see the online social network as a way for participants to:

1. Share:

• Places on a map (see Figure 6), such as the institutions which the participants

represent, places where participants may be conducting workshops, or places

which may benefit from workshops. The map is collaboratively built online

using Tagzania and may be found on the social network site as well as at

http://www.tagzania.com/tag/newssc07.

• Photos and videos taken at the Workshop in Woods Hole, or of future

workshops and places which may benefit from workshops.

• Bookmarks and resources (see Figure 7) supporting the collaborative generation

of environmental knowledge and inquiry. The resource pool is collaborative

collected online with the online social bookmark and annotation tool Diigo and

may be found on the social network site as well as at

http://groups.diigo.com/groups/newssc07.

• Up-to-date contact information as participants move through careers and life

(see Figure 3).

2. Discuss:

• Asynchronously through the threaded discussion forum (see Figure 5) so that

participants can discuss their projects as they design and implement them in a

focused and structured manner.


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• Substantively about content on the Workshop Wiki

(http://newssc.wikispaces.com/UnitsinProgress07), available as a link from the

social network site homepage.

• Informally using the Comment Wall and personal blog.

• Within interest- or task-focused groups (see Figure 4).

Reflections

The building of the NEWSSC 2007 Social Network Site was in part an experiment. I wanted to

see what it took to technically create a stand-alone social network site. In addition, I wanted to see how

a group of people who came together for an intense 5 day workshop would take to the social network

site, and to see if the collaboration would continue. In response to the first line of inquiry, it was not

difficult nor time consuming, but more difficult and more time consuming than I had hoped (which,

ironically, had expected). To answer the second line of inquiry, almost all participants joined the social

network site. I and the two other coaches were the only ones to follow through in using the site for

anything more than membership, but as time progressed, involvement declined. This outcome I was

also expecting, but I was hoping that it would not occur.

I have two ideas to consider in the future which may facilitate participation:

• Starting participation in the social network site prior to the beginning of the actual

workshop, as a way of “getting to know you” before the workshop physically convenes.

• Providing more structured activities before and after the workshop, allowing for a more

scaffolded and directed experience. While being forced to do something online just for

the sake of doing it online is not the goal here, there may have been more participation

if there were more activities which had a specific task and focus to accomplish.

The other thing to keep in mind is that if participants do not incorporate web-based social

networking into their routine, this is just one more thing to do. For those who do participate in online

social networking on a regular or fairly regular basis, they may prefer to utilize an already existing

service (such as Facebook or LinkedIn), but I have concerns about the ability for these sites to support

deep knowledge-based collaboration. However, these are all ideas to consider when moving forward on

web-based collaboration endeavors.

Continuing Collaborations Across Time and Space

Screenshots

Figure 2: NEWSSC 2007 Social Network Site Main Page


: NEWSSC 2007 Social Network Site Main Page

Jeremy F Price

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Figure 3: Members of the Social Network Site


: Members of the Social Network Site

Jeremy F Price

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Figure 4: Groups on the Social Network Site


: Groups on the Social Network Site

Jeremy F Price

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Figure 5: Discussion Forums Main Page


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Figure 6: Tagzania NEWSSC07 Map


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Figure 7: Diigo Social Bookmarking Group for NEWSSC 2007.


: Diigo Social Bookmarking Group for NEWSSC 2007.

Jeremy F Price

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Reference

boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship, Journal of

Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1). Retrieved January 24, 2008, from

http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html.

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