Building Social Capital through Online Class Discussions: A Little Freedom Goes a Long Way

Abstract

Online class discussions have been studied from many perspectives; however, the literature is lacking that shows instructors how to help online students build social capital. Social capital is an information asset that stems from the interaction between agents. This study examines how social capital can be fostered through online class discussions. When students have a little freedom to lead their own discussions, the results are that they gain much more than a passing grade. Students learn that interactions with their classmates can be a source of valuable information. They use these online discussion experiences to broaden their own knowledge base and use this opportunity to find solutions to problems in their personal work environment. Using conceptual analysis, online discussion postings covering three semesters of an online Management Information Systems course were analyzed and the results categorized using a 6-dimensional model of social capital in order to ascertain whether social capital was being formed.

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