Connecting agents: Engagement and motivation in online collaboration

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between social engagement and motivation to share knowledge in a hybrid college class using a web infused curriculum. Online social engagement, operationalized through concepts such as connectivity, social presence and social space has been an important topic of research in web based education for more than a decade. An important sub-text of this research is that online social engagement supports higher levels of collaboration. Students who feel comfortable with and connected to their online learning community are much more likely to be active participants in that community, working together to develop and build knowledge systems. Much of this research refers to the more social/participatory based educational theories of John Dewey and L.S. Vygotsky. There is though a second component of collaboration that helps drive community building in this theoretical frameworks; motivation to engage in a shared, relevant, goal oriented activity. While most theories on social engagement assume natural relationships between online social engagement and motivation to participate in a community, this relationship is not often discussed and examined very often. This paper specifically compares the relationship between classroom connectedness and motivation to share knowledge between students in a hybrid, web infused class and a more traditionally oriented class with a small web component. Analysis did find a highly significant relationship between connectedness and motivation to share knowledge in the hybrid class but not in the traditional class, suggesting an important relationship, but one based at least partially in targeted experience.