Abstract
The study attempts to provide a sociological framework for using insights into the effect of social capital on collaborative online learning to provide guidelines on how best to design learning experiences for meaningful and sustainable interactions between online students. The focus of the study is to do a sociological exploration of collaborative online learning activities with the view to understanding how social ties between students relate to online learning performance. The study is concerned with the role of social learning networks in an online learning environment and how participation in such networks provide for learning and learning–related benefits; in other words, the study is concerned with the role of social capital in online learning.
The inquiry aimed to comprehend the nature of social capital in online learning by looking at the types and conditions of social capital in online learning in order to grasp the effects of social capital, particularly in relation to how social capital has the potential to facilitate learning in an online learning environment. In order to understand the nature of social capital in online learning, four research objectives are pursued. The study examines how different types of social capital manifest themselves in online learning. The research is concerned with establishing what the supporting conditions are of social capital accumulation in online learning. The study also considers the potential effects of social capital in online learning in order to provide light on the role of social capital in online learning. Lastly, the study is concerned with how the insights into the process of social capital development in online learning can be used to develop a social theoretical understanding of online learning to inform an improved design and facilitation of online learning experiences.
A case study is used to gather in-depth information from focus group interviews and semi-structured telephonic interviews conducted with online students at the University of South Africa (Unisa). In this way a qualitative approach makes a contribution to research on the experiences and perceptions of a diverse group of online students, particularly regarding the subjective process of adapting to the demands of online learning, developing social presence in an online learning environment, building social networks of learning and achieving learning benefits through collaborative online learning endeavours.
The study reveals that students might be novices and face various challenges in becoming online students. Students from different socio-economic backgrounds experience diverse...
D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)