Building online communities

Entrevista a Nancy Whites: Building Community With Online Communities – Part One

On parla de les bones pràctiques i característiques d’èxit de les comunitats online. Una de les potencialitats de l’us dels blocs en educació radica en compartir la informació i crear una comunitat amb interessos comuns, o traslladar una comunitat ja existent (una classe) a un entorn virtual.

 Què fa que una comunitat tingui èxit?

* Is the purpose clear? Shared?

* Is there the useful level of identity for members? (Sometimes anonymity is the key, sometimes it is not, for example)

* Is the means of interaction, the technology, appropriate to the community’s desired activities and technology inclinations? Techie communities may look technologically very different from communities that serve second wave adopters.

* Is there the right level of organization and facilitation? Different groups embrace more or less emergence or order. When I bake, I need a recipe so the cake rises and I follow it carefully. When I cook soup, it is taste, experiment and adjust. Communities need the same range.

* Is there the right balance of interaction and content. Content draws us and helps focus our attention. Interaction engages us, creates bonds that strengthen interaction.

* Is there the right level of trust? The recent situation with Kathy Sierra shows us that in our open, unbounded networks, we often don’t know enough to clearly figure out what is going on and that can be threatening or liberating.

* Are there enough bridge builders and connectors to weave the community together? These are really important actors in communities.

Tot això i més a l’article de Nancy White traduit al castellà aquí: http://www.gabinetedeinformatica.net/wp15/2007/03/24/blogs-y-comunidad-%c2%bflanzando-un-nuevo-paradigma-de-comunidad-online-nancy-white/