Project implementation
The project is comprised of design and implementation phases that continuously involve data collection, analysis and consultation.
For each community, during the design phase representative students and staff will be invited to participate in a survey and focus group discussions to consider both the structure and the kinds of activities that they might anticipate for the social networking environment. This discussion will include consideration of how online environment intersects with campus-based (and clinical community- and hospital-based in the case of the medical school) formal teaching activities and informal learning opportunities.
Survey and focus group findings will be used to tailor a social networking environment for each community using open source social networking software.
During the implementation phase students and staff will be invited to participate in their respective social networking environment for a period of up to eight months (in the context of this project). Unobtrusive observation and monitoring of participant online activity will be conducted for the purposes of uncovering the nature of community activity. At the end of the eight-month period, participants will be invited to participate in focus group discussions to reflect on their experience of participation. Observation and focus group data will be analysed using a framework that is based on the constructs of both the learning-teaching-research nexus and social networking.
Findings of each phase of the project will be reported to a range of education faculty and medical school committees and interest groups for both consultation and feedback.
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