Case Study 1

Part A

Introduction
I chose to examine Facebook for this case study. I chose this site because I have not been to any of these types of virtual communities. My children ages 19 and 23 both spend numerous hours on these types of social gathering. When you click on the “about” link, you can find all about this site. Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004. With having it’s fifth birthday and millions of participants, the objectives are to reconnect people that have lost touch and to make new connections. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. I have been an Internet junkie since 2001, but have never been to sites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. I thought these were for the highschoolers and young at heart. I have been extremely surprised at the amount of my high school classmates that have a profile on Facebook. I enjoyed sitting for hours scrolling through the profiles to see how many people I knew. I was amazed! I mostly observed, but I did send several messages to those I have not seen in 25 years and never knew what life dealt them. I sat up a Facebook page as the requirement for this course and I am anxious awaiting some replies from those ‘old’ friends! I also briefly surfed YouTube and MySpace. The YouTube site I have used as clips in my classroom but have never been to the site myself. There is truly something for everyone on this site. From jokes to video of procedures, there is something there of interest.

Type of Community
These personal virtual communities I visited are designed to communicate information in the privacy of our homes/office. Facebook and MySpace could be utilized for many different aspects of communication but I think these sites are they way of this generation and if we are to be connected the oldies must become techno savvy! On the other hand, I found YouTube to be very informative. I could use some videos from this site to further explain, using visual aids for topics in my classroom. So, in other words, this type of virtual community could also be used for professional development.
The purpose, goals, needs and identity are all for personal use and to confirm or make personal relationships. The opportunity and possibility to form relationships are endless, as in the personal ads are full of single people all searching for that right personal relationship. I have a personal story to share. I met my partner in life on a VC site. We have been together for 5 years and I feel very fortunate to have been in the same virtual community as him to become acquainted and later in a special relationship with this wonderful man!


Structure of Community
The structure of Facebook is easily navigated. You have the opportunity to develop your personal profile, upload pictures, design with your own style then browse for people, and find friends. In order to communicate with a friend you send a message. After clicking on the link, simply type in your message and click send. The person is able to see all your friends list for one month from the date of your message. A message alert is prompted in this regard.

Design Features and Roles of Technology
Facebook is totally voluntary. The support of having your personal profile online for the entire world to see is strictly voluntary. Those that choose not to participate in certain areas are not forced to publish that particular information. The VC sustains its membership because we all feel the need to keep in touch with those that once touched our lives. Technology is forever changing and in order to keep up, I have learned how to upload a picture or text and have amazingly broadened my knowledge.

Conclusion & Implications
I understand how my son has become addicted to MySpace. I found myself lost in time as I scrolled through countless screens looking at profiles. This is extremely entertaining. With the rising costs and our looming recession, people may search for low cost entertainment. The viability of these types of VC is with the participation, creativity and imagination of its members.

Part B
Introduction
For the second part of this case study, I chose to enter merlot.org and wisconline.org. As I entered both sites, I found that the merlot.org website to be more applicable since I teach post secondary students. In health care, this site gave many different avenues for faculty to utilize in their own classrooms. The various activities in many different areas of education were helpful. I joined as a member and will definitely use this site to further enhance my lectures in my classroom.

Type of Community
Based on my readings from Riel and Polin (2004), merlot.org and wisconline.org are task-based learning communities. The people organized around a task (such as healthcare) for a specified period of time to produce a product (assist the educator) is an example of this type of community (pg20). The site has expert advise in many different areas and I have found extremely helpful. For example, on this site there is a video on YouTube demonstrating how to obtain ABG’s (arterial blood gases). This is my next topic in my classroom. I will use this video clip next week; I found it to be very quick, easy and informative.

Structure/design feature/role of technology
This was an easy site to navigate, with the many links/topics on the left hand side. The many different areas of education are extremely helpful. I clicked on the health science and under this topic there were many different subtopics. Wow, what a difference I can make in my lectures with these experts learning tools. I was happy to see that so many long term educators and expert in different fields are willing to share their knowledge.

Conclusion/Implications
I really enjoyed this site and what it has to offer a new instructor. As a new instructor and new to education, I look up to those that have paved the road ahead of me to travel. I am always looking for new opportunities and any aid to enhance my teaching abilities. This site is a must for all educators.