Learners on the Periphery: Lurkers as Invisible Learners

Abstract

Lurkers, who are also known as silent learners, observers, browsers, read-only participants, vicarious learners, free-riders, witness learners, or legitimate peripheral participants (our preferred term), tend to be hard to track in a course because of their near invisibility. We decided to address this issue and to examine the perceptions that lurkers have of their behaviour by looking at one specific online learning course: CLMOOC. In order to do this, we used a mixed methods approach and collected our data via social network analysis, online questionnaires, and observations, including definitions from the lurkers of what they thought lurking was. We then analysed the data by using social network and content analyses and interpreted the research findings using the concept Community of Practice, with the Pareto Principle used to delimit types of learner. Our research findings revealed that lurking is a complex behaviour, or set of behaviours, and there isn't one sole reason why lurkers act the ways that they do in their respective communities. We concluded that for a more participatory community the more active, experienced or visible community members could develop strategies to encourage lurkers to become more active and to make the journey from the periphery to the core of the community. Abstract in TurkishSessiz öğrenenler, gözlemciler, tarayıcılar, sadece okuyan katılımcılar, hayali öğrenenler, bedavacılar, tanık öğrenenler veya bu çalışmada da tercih edildiği üzere çevresel katılımcılar olarak da tanımlanan gizil öğrenenler, neredeyse görünmez olmalarından dolayı bir ders sürecinde takip edilip belirlenmeleri zor olan öğrenenlerdir. Bu bağlamda bu konuya değinebilmek ve gizil öğrenenlerin davranışlarından kaynaklanan anlayışlarını inceleyebilmek için çevrimiçi bir ders olan CLMOOC incelenmiştir. Bu amaçla karma araştırma yöntemi benimsenmiş ve gizil öğrenenlere yönelik yapılan tanımlar da incelenip çalışmaya dâhil edilerek, sosyal ağ analizi, çevrimiçi anket ve gözlem yoluyla araştırma verileri toplanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler sosyal ağ analizi ve içerik analizi yoluyla incelenmiş, araştırma bulgularının yorumlanmasında Uygulama Toplulukları, öğrenenlerin belirlenmesinde ise Pareto Prensibi'nden faydalanılmıştır. Araştırma bulgularına göre gizil öğrenme karmaşık bir davranış veya davranışlar bütünüdür ve gizil öğrenenlerin ilgili öğrenme topluluklarında niçin bu şekilde davrandıklarına yönelik tek bir sebep yoktur. Araştırma sonucuna göre, daha katılımcı bir topluluk uluşturabilmek amacıyla daha aktif, deneyimli veya görülebilen, belirgin topluluk üyeleri gizil öğrenenleri daha aktif olmaya teşvik etmek ve onların çevresel yörüngeden merkezdeki ana topluluğa doğru yolculuklarını sağlamak için stratejiler geliştirmeleri önerilmektedir. Abstract in GreekΟι ενεδρεύων χρήστες, «lurkers» στα αγγλικά, και κοινώς γνωστοί με άλλους όρους όπως για παράδειγμα «σιωπηλοί μαθητές», «παρατηρητές», «περιηγητές», «συμμετέχοντες που μόνο διαβάζουν και δεν συμμετάσχουν», «μαθητές μέσω δοτής εμπειρίας», «παρασιτικοί...

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