1. Online Learning Communities: What goes on inside? Sofia Pardo PhD Lead Researcher ideasLAB

2. Teachers Online Learning Community Why and when was the community formed? Four month professional development program in 2009 Who was part of the community? 100 teachers from Victorian government schools Team leaders Community leaders Fellows Experienced voices Where was the community and how did it work? Ning (Discussion forum, wall and team blogs) Face2Face + Webinars

3. Research Questions Flow: What is the flow (i.e., direction) and frequency of the posts among differing roles within the learning community? Function: What is the function (i.e., purpose) and frequency of the posts amongst differing roles within the learning community? Content: What is the content (i.e., topics) and frequency of the posts amongst different roles within the learning community?

4. Diagnostic Tools

5. Methodology Sample size  76% of comments (1225) Analysis Categories – Flow (e.g. Fellow, community leader, member, broadcast) – Content (e.g. Resources, ICT ethic, teaching and learning, classroom management, leadership, assessment) – Function (e.g. Seeking info, sharing info, contrasting, guided advice, negotiating meaning)

6. Pulse Tool Pulse Burst Icon

7. Pulse Tool

9. Flow : who is talking to who? Majority of comments were broadcasted with slightly higher numbers in public (384) than group spaces (358). Members posted mostly in group spaces yet they were addressed more often in public spaces. Fellows addressed team leaders three times more than team leaders did to fellows. Out of 130 community members, 20% chose not to post and just observe (lurk).

10. Content : what are the conversations about? While it was expected to have a high concentration of comments in Teaching &Learning and Professional Development areas, the number of comments around resources was not anticipated. The topic of Learning &Teaching was discussed more in public areas of the community, while Professional Learning was talked about more often in the smaller, intimate setting of the groups. Members talked about resources everywhere (both public and private) however, Fellows discussed resources more in groups.

11. Function: what was the purpose of the conversations? The three most utilized functions were sharing info, sharing/contrasting exp, and sharing point of view. The content they were sharing, contrasting, or giving a point of view on aligned nicely with the top content areas as well. Least used functions were the highest order skills of negotiation of meaning and professional growth. Most mentoring took place in the Community Leader role.

12. Lessons Learned Experienced voices (international visitors) were a underutilized resource, hence further study needs to occur as to make the most of the opportunity for diverse conversations at the community level. More focus to the development of a shared vision for community outcomes needs to happen at the start of the professional learning program. Capturing evidence around the quality of the conversations is key for the management, promotion and sustainability of online learning communities.